The Adventures of Arcadia and Hendrickson
by Butterfly553
Summary: A girl named Arcadia goes on the adventure of a lifetime with Meliodas and his group. They face a lot of issues and trials and the end of their path is unknown, but along the way, romance unexpectedly blooms between Arcadia and Hendrickson. While both of them are determined to get Dreyfus back, the two end up growing close. Follow them on their path to defeating the Demon clan.
1. New Girl

Chapter 1 – New Girl

Meliodas and his group, along with Hendrickson and the three misfits were all in Istar. The blond man just arrived at the training cave after his test and just finished speaking to Hendrickson. Once he approached Jenna, a thought came to his mind and it didn't involve his lost powers.

"Hey, Jenna, where exactly is Arcadia? I thought she'd be here." Meliodas questioned, causing the others around him to turn to look at him curiously.

"Who is 'Arcadia'?" King asked in return before Jenna could respond.

"She's an old friend of mine." Meliodas just smiled brightly after speaking, causing the fairy king to be a little suspicious.

"I'll call her," Jenna spoke, before turning around. "ARCADIA! GET YOUR ASS OVER TO THE TRAINING CAVE!" Her loud voice startled everyone around her. "She'll be here in a few minutes. Go ahead in the cave with King for now."

So, that's where Meliodas went. He and King needed to have a chat anyway. So, as they chatted and fought each other, the girl made her way to the training cave. She wasn't happy about it at all. She'd been taking a nap.

Sure enough, once Meliodas and King exited the caves, the girl was walking up the path to them.

"Arcadia!" Meliodas yelled out excitedly, it was the same tone as when he would see Ban after a long period of time. Everyone turned to see the clearly annoyed girl walking towards them. She had white hair, like a druid's, down to her shoulders. She wore black pants and a black tank top with a blue cloak around her shoulders that nearly dragged on the ground.

"Hello, Meliodas. What do you want?" Her tone was the complete opposite of his.

"Everyone, this is Arcadia." Jenna interrupts before Meliodas can speak. "Arcadia, this is Gilthunder, Howzer, Hendrickson, and King."

"Um, hello?" The girl clearly was confused to why there were so many humans and a fairy there in Istar. It wasn't every day that there were so many outsiders.

"Arcadia here is a half-demon and half-goddess. She's a one-of-a-kind being!"

"What?!" Everyone was shocked at that, except Merlin and Meliodas. Due to those two not being introduced to her, it was clear that the girl not only knew Meliodas but Merlin as well.

"Come here, we need to talk." Meliodas then pulled the girl off to the side. "Listen, can you help us out. Fraudrin is back and causing a bunch of issues."

"I don't see why that's my problem."

"Wait, I don't mean to eavesdrop, but did I just hear you talk about Fraudrin?" Gilthunder questioned, approaching the two of them. The girl turned around to glare at the human, while Meliodas just nodded his head.

"You're correct, little Gil."

"Why is he any of her business?"

"Because I once... had a connection to him. So he's my problem. Why is it your business?" Arcadia purposefully avoided giving too much information to Gilthunder.

"My father was killed by that demon and Sir Dreyfus is still being possessed by him!"

"Well, before you two get into it, how about I get my powers back. You can ask her all you want later, alright, little Gil?"

"Alright then." Jenna summoned a huge goddess amber.

"So, Sir Meliodas's strength is in here?" Hendrickson questioned with awe.

"You have no idea what pains I had to go through to get it inside..." Jenna muttered, mostly to herself. "Now then, everyone, step back. Here it comes, Meliodas."

"Bring it!" The blond man instantly responded. Jenna then muttered some words that the humans didn't understand and the goddess amber broke. Darkness fell upon Istar as Meliodas's strength was unleashed.

"Wh...What's going on? It became night all of a sudden!" Howzer cried out, completely shocked by the events unfolding around him. Gilthunder looked just as shocked but said nothing.

"It's not the darkness of the night. This is Meliodas's power, released from the amber." Jenna explained to the humans around her. She then mumbled more words the humans couldn't understand, and then all the black began to pour into Meliodas. It sent wind furiously blowing around them. It knocked the humans backward, well just Howzer and Gilthunder, as Hendrickson hid behind a large rock. Quickly though, the two humans regained themselves and returned to the group. Only to see Meliodas begin to laugh.

"I've dreamed of this day for so long!" Meliodas began, "My strength has finally returned to me!"

"Meliodas?" Gilthunder hesitantly questioned as Howzer also said, "Hey! It sounds like he's turned evil..." Just as the humans began to be on edge, Meliodas smiled at them.

"Just kidding."

"What the hell? He hasn't changed a bit!" Howzer spoke up a little annoyed at the situation.

"Are you stupid?" King suddenly questioned the other blond man. "Do you really think he's still the same?" He was watching Meliodas carefully as the other man put his clothing back on. Once he was almost done with his task, he opened his mouth to ask a question.

"Merlin, can you teleport me to where the Ten Commandants are?"

"Have you lost your mind!? Charging straight to the enemy?!" Gilthunder cried out, horrified at what his past mentor had just said.

"Take me along with you. I need to see him once again. I have to make sure he knows that I'm not going to just let him live this time around." Arcadia suddenly spoke up as she approached Meliodas.

"Very well. However, it will take some time before you can be teleported back here once you've been sent there." Merlin then explained how Meliodas and Arcadia would have to hold the Ten Commandants off for that time before they could return.

"Yep, let's do it," Meliodas responded happily. He had his sword back on him and everything. He was prepared.

"Sir Meliodas, just like Gil said, the Ten Commandants are too powerful!" Hendrickson yelled out next. Arcadia, however, just smiled up at him.

"Don't worry, it'll just be to say hello. That's all."

"Just like Arc said. It's going to be just a greeting." With that, the two people disappeared and reappeared in front of all of the Ten Commandants. "Yo!" Meliodas spoke to the group in front of them. Instantly Galand went into action and Arcadia quickly made her way to Fraudrin.

She allowed her wings to appear. The two on top were of the goddess clan and the two on the bottom were of the demon clan, totaling four wings. She flew to Fraudrin and landed in front of him as Meliodas and Galand fought.

"Arcadia, what are you doing here?" Fraudrin questioned as he watched the girl. He almost looked happy to see her there.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on doing anything today. I just wanted to say hello." Arcadia smiled up at the demon, however, the smiling didn't reach her eyes. "However, I will be coming for you."

"Who are you talking to?"

"The human, Dreyfus, of course." Arcadia stopped smiling and began to glare at him. "I will take that human back from you."

"You think so?"

"I know so. Well, goodbye."

"Wait, Arcadia-" With that, Meliodas and Arcadia were gone. The last thing Arcadia saw was Fraudrin reaching out to her with a strange look on his face. It wasn't one she was used to seeing on the demon, despite the different body he was in currently.

"Sir Meliodas!" Hendrickson called out as the two reappeared in front of the little group. "Arcadia, you too."

"Great, you're unharmed!" Gilthunder spoke next happily.

"I told you, I just wanted to give them a little greeting." Meliodas just spoke with a smile on his face.

"What do you mean, greeting?" Jenna questioned as she began to freak out. Arcadia noticed that Zaneri was there now and waved at the girl.

"It wasn't much. I just warned them that we'll crush them if they step out of line."

"You did what?!" Arcadia spun around in horror as the rest of the group reacted in the same way. "I didn't even notice that at all!"

"You were too wrapped up in your little world with Fraudrin." Meliodas teased as he smirked at the girl. She blushed and glared at the other man before turning her attention to the now screaming fairy king.

"What were you thinking?! You're out of line here! All you did was provoke them!" King screamed at the unimpressed blond man.

"Hmm, yeah, more or less."

"This is like waking up a sleeping baby! They were doing nothing, clustered in one place! What are you going to do if they start invading!?" Jenna cried out as she nearly towered over the blond man.

"Why are you so mad?"

"WHY WOULDN'T WE BE!?" Both Jenna and King yelled out in unison. Arcadia just giggled to herself, earning a glare from both of the yelling people.

"Britannia now has many countries and cities. In order to conquer it, it'll be more efficient to split up and spread out... is what they'll definitely think." Meliodas began to explain simply. "If the entire Ten Commandants stay together in one place, even I can't beat them. Even if I'm stronger now. That's why we'll make them split up and take them down one or two members at a time!"

"Oh? What sounds interesting. My nose is ready to go!" Everyone turned to the source of the voice.

"Oh? You're done with your training?" Meliodas questioned with a smile on his face. He just stared at the being in front of him. Which was Hawk but transformed into a monster. So, not wanting to deal with that, Meliodas just turned to Zaneri. "Yo, Zaneri! If you're here, then that means Elizabeth is done with her training too, right?"

"Ye...Yeah." She was too concerned with the pig-thing. Arcadia ignored the interaction between everyone and decides to look over at Hendrickson. She felt something from the druid and wanted to talk to him, but she'd let it go for now. As she began to hear a child crying. She turned her attention to a man with a mask holding a little boy.

"Gria-" Gilthunder began and was finished by Howzer, "-More?" Then suddenly there was a girl yelling out Meliodas's name.

"Lord Meliodas!"

"Hey... is that..." Arcadia was hesitant and kept her voice low to the blond haired man.

"It is." Was all Meliodas spoke before turning his attention to Elizabeth. While Meliodas moved to greet the girl, Arcadia moved over to Hendrickson.

"So, you're Hendrickson, right?" Arcadia questioned as she looked up at the man.

"Uh, yes." He seemed a little shocked that someone was talking to him now. "Was there something you needed?"

"You were once momentarily possessed by Fraudrin, correct? I can feel it within you." At her words, Hendrickson seemed even more shocked.

"How did you..."

"I just can know. So, is that Dreyfus guy important to you? How did he end up being possessed?" Before Hendrickson can answer, Jenna pulls Arcadia away from the druid man.

"So, now that everyone is here, I'll re-introduce this girl. She is Arcadia, and is a half-demon and half-goddess." Jenna then told Arcadia the rest of their names.

"It's nice to meet you all."

"Arc here will be traveling with you guys!"

"I will what now?!" Arcadia spun around to look at Jenna, who was smiling like crazy. "The hell I will."

"Remember Arc, you are partially responsible for all that's happened since you didn't stop that demon of yours a long time ago." To Jenna's words, Arcadia just pouts and remains quiet for a moment.

"Can I at least go get my stuff?" Jenna nods her head and Arcadia's wing re-appear and then she flies off to go back to her home. It took a few moments but eventually, she came back with a bag in hand and a sword attached to her hip on her left side.

"Alright, is everyone ready now?" Meliodas questioned to the whole group. A chorus of yeses rang out as everyone had already put all their clothes back on. With the exception of Griamore who now had no clothing to wear.

"Do I really have to come with you?"

"Yup." Meliodas seemed happy to say that, while Arcadia was not at all. "Anyway, thanks for everything, Jenna, Zaneri."

"Stay longer next time you come to play, and bring Ban with you, too," Jenna responded happily.

"Yep. So, where's Theo?"

"Taking a nap."

"A nap? He really is a kid." After Meliodas spoke, Arcadia then turned her attention back to Hendrickson.

"So, you never got a chance to tell me your story yet," Arcadia spoke to the taller man.

"You can tell her later," Jenna spoke, yet again interrupting the two's conversation. "Listen, Hendy, the path of atonement will be difficult, but never forsake yourself." She patted the man as she spoke.

"...Yes." Hendrickson responded simply to the short girl.

"Thank you very much!" Gilthunder spoke next.

"Thanks, Lady Jenna," Howzer said after Gilthunder.

"Yes! Now go save the world!" Jenna yelled out happily to the group. "And good luck Arcadia!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Arcadia followed the group out of Istar and gasped at the outside world. "I haven't been out here in many years..."

"I wanna drink!" Arcadia heard someone yell out.

"Oh god, yes," Arcadia responded.

"No. You are too young to drink." Meliodas scolded the girl.

"Excuse me?! I've been alive for almost 3000 years! I'm old enough to drink."

"Meliodas, did you really get in a battle with the Ten Commandants?" Gilthunder questioned, ignoring the interaction between Meliodas and the girl.

"Hm? I just exchanged some light punches with this guy called Galand. I'd hardly call that a battle." Meliodas then turned to the two young adults. "Little Gil, Howzer, you two look stronger!"

"Di...Did you hear that, Howzer!?" Gilthunder excitedly questioned as he looked over at his friend.

"I don't really feel different though." Arcadia then zoned out and turned to Hendrickson.

"So, tell me your story now."

"Alright." Hendrickson then explained everything he'd explained to Gilthunder, Howzer, and Griamore before when he'd met up with them earlier on. He also explained all he and Dreyfus had done up until that point in time. It shocked the girl to hear his story and to hear all Fraudrin had done to him and done with him.

"I see... I'm sorry..." Hendrickson was about to ask why she was so sorry when she turned away from him and put her attention back to Meliodas.

"Next up on our agenda is... finding Escanor!"

"Do we really need to find another sin? Aren't you more than enough by yourself?"

"Th...Thirty-two thousand, five hundred!" Gilthunder spoke in disbelief.

"Escanor's even stronger than me!" Meliodas had a huge smile on his face as he spoke. "Actually, Arcadia is also even stronger than me."

"Oh really?" Hawk turned to look at the girl and gasped in disbelief. "Forty-three thousand, three hundred?!"

"Aw... I've gotten weaker over the years..."

"Weaker?!"

"Well, I am a pretty powerful being..." Arcadia felt bad that no one believed her since she looked like a young woman, but she'd show them one day. She would prove to them that she was strong and could protect them. She also wanted to help Hendrickson get his best friend back. 


	2. Boar Hat

Chapter 2 – Boar Hat

Later on in the Boar Hat, Meliodas and his group were all hanging out. The men had all put on the bar's outfit and Meliodas kept trying to get Arcadia to also put on the uniform. However, the girl refused to. Even so, that wasn't what was on the girl's mind at the time. She was focused on how Hendrickson was now approaching her.

"Lady Arcadia. May I ask you a question?" Hendrickson questioned once he was standing in front of her.

"Don't call me 'lady', it's weird, but sure."

"Tell me about your connection with Fraudrin."

"Oh... Um, alright I guess. Since you asked so nicely...Not that you worded that like a question anyway..." She was sarcastic and a little irritated, but she decided to speak anyway. She noticed how Gilthunder and Howzer also walked over to hear her story, but she didn't say anything to them. She kept her eyes on Hendrickson's. "Well, I guess you could say he and I were romantically involved. As romantically involved as a demon can be anyway. I don't think he actually cared too much for me, but I had once cared deeply for him."

"Cared? Past tense?" It was Gilthunder speaking now, he'd stepped closer to the girl. She sighed and turned around to face the young man.

"Yes. Once he killed Liz, Meliodas's previous lover, the love I felt for him died away. I took that as a betrayal due to how close I was with Liz. He knew she meant a lot to me, yet he killed her anyway. Now, my only feelings towards him are those of hate and the need to kill him."

"I see. However, why didn't you make sure he was dead after Meliodas destroyed Danafor? Why did you leave him at the bottom of that crater?" Hendrickson questioned, getting a little emotional over the situation.

"I will admit, I knew he was alive then, but I was in so much shock over Liz's death that I just left and never looked back. I never expected any humans to go down there. I didn't know it would happen."

"Just because you didn't know doesn't mean anything to me. You turned a blind eye on the situation and that caused my father and many others to end up dead."

"Gilthunder, it isn't her fault." Hendrickson was trying to defend the girl now.

"Listen, kid, there's more to the story than what I can tell you currently, but just know I never meant for any of this to happen."

"I don't believe you. How could you have just let him live? You can't tell me that you didn't know Sir Dreyfus was possessed by that demon. Even if you didn't know, you should have been paying attention to the mess you left!" Gilthunder was getting quite emotional now over Arcadia. She just looked to the ground and sighed.

"I never said I didn't know someone got possessed. I knew, but I chose to do nothing about it. I have been weakened over these years, and I feared that getting involved would only lead Fraudrin to get a hold of my powers and use me for worse things. I'm sorry, Gilthunder. I should have at least tried something, but I was scared he would use me to hurt or kill even more people than he could already."

"You should have gotten involved. You should have tried to do something!"

"Gil, man chill out. She said that she could have been used to do even more damage." Howzer spoke as he put a hand on Gilthunder's shoulder. Gilthunder looked over at his close friend and sighed.

"Everything was my fault. If I hadn't been consumed with the darkness left behind by when Fraudrin possessed me for those seconds, then none of this would have happened." Hendrickson was clearly trying to take all of the blame, but the girl wouldn't let him. She turned back to him and shook her head.

"It's my fault for not watching over him better. I should have found some way to stop anyone from going down that crater. It couldn't be your fault. You didn't ask for any of this to happen to you."

"Arcadia..." Hendrickson wanted to say more, but suddenly the cries of the young man turned boy was starting to be heard coming towards them. The four of them turned to see Slader walking down the stairs with the now clothed crying boy in his arms.

"Is something wrong with him... other than the obvious?" Arcadia questioned, a little sad for the crying boy.

"I'm not sure, he just won't stop crying anytime I hold him."

"Her! I want her to hold me!" Griamore cried out as he reached his arms out for the only girl in the room.

"Um, what?" Arcadia just looked around at the guys with horror written all over her face. Gilthunder just nodded his head at her. "But... okay I guess." Arcadia then walked over to Slader and took the boy from his arms. As soon as he'd seen her, he'd stopped crying so now he was just wiping away his tears.

"Hi," Griamore spoke as he smiled up at the girl.

"Um, hello. Why do you want to be held by me?"

"You are less scary."

"Oh..." Arcadia wasn't sure how she felt about that. She didn't want to be 'less scary' she wanted to be a powerful being who people feared. Yet here was this child that wasn't a bit afraid of her.

"Put me down now." Griamore's voice broke the girl out of her thoughts.

"Sure." Arcadia then put the child down on the ground only to watch him walk over to Hendrickson and raise his arms up at him.

"Pick me up," Griamore stated as he wiggled his fingers at the older man.

"Me?" Hendrickson was clearly confused but complied with the little boy's wishes anyway. He picked Griamore up and held him in his arms. The little boy seemed just as happy as he was when the girl held him.

"I guess you and Arcadia have now become Griamore's parents for the time being." It was Meliodas's voice startling everyone in the room. He'd walked down the stairs with Elizabeth in tow without anyone even hearing them. Everyone else began to pour into the main area of the Boar Hat now as if they were all summoned by something. However, before anyone could say anything, King burst into the room and declared he was going to leave them all now. "You're going to move separately? Are you going to look for Diane?"

"That's one of the reasons, but there's something else, I absolutely have to go."

"Then we'll come with..."

"I don't need your help!" King snapped before looking away from the group. "Didn't I tell you? I don't trust you."

"Well, well, well, that's a problem."

"King! How can you say that?!" Gilthunder yelled out at the fairy king. "What happened in the land of the Druids?! What part of Meliodas can you not trust?!"

"Everything. I can't believe you guys actually trust him. Someone whose true identity is unknown... someone who refuses to tell who he really is." King had now turned completely away from everyone as he spoke. Arcadia then, in turn, turned to Hendrickson.

"Is he always such a jackass?"

"No, he isn't. Something must truly be bothering him." Hendrickson responded as he watched as Elizabeth was now speaking to King.

"I'm the same... I don't know who my real parents are or who I even am, but Lord Meliodas and Lord King, you've both helped me." However, her words were lost on the man. "Lord King!"

"Sorry... I have to go." King then began to fly out of the door.

"Give us a holler if something happens, and we'll go to you right away!" Meliodas yelled after him with a smile on his face. Even though King didn't trust him, he still had full trust in the fairy.

Arcadia ended up taking the kid back from Hendrickson so he could do some cleaning. The two ended up going to the top of the Boar Hat with Gowther. Arcadia had heard of the books he kept with him, so she wanted to go and check them out. Her and Griamore spent the rest of the day reading with Gowther. Well, it was more like Gowther and her read the books to Griamore, but still.

"Arcadia, is Griamore hungry yet?" Hendrickson's voice shocked the two people out of their books while Gowther just stared at the older man.

"I'm not sure, are you hungry Griamore?" The little boy nodded his head so Arcadia stood up. "Alright, who do you want to carry you?"

"Him." Griamore then got himself up and made his way over to Hendrickson. The white-haired man picked up the little boy and began to descend the stairs. Arcadia thanked Gowther and followed after Hendrickson.

"I wonder where everyone is going to sleep tonight. There are so many people and such little room."

"I suppose people will have to sleep in the bar area. I'm sure Gilthunder and Howzer won't mind. They have done it before." Hendrickson smiled a little as he spoke, which send flutters through Arcadia's heart. However, she shoved those aside and began to worry about whether or not she'd have to stay in the bar part as well.

"Don't worry Arcadia. You won't have to." They'd reached the bottom of the stairs where apparently Meliodas had heard their conversation.

"Huh? Why not? Not that I want to anyway."

"I've decided that you, Hendrickson and Griamore can take Elizabeth and I's room."

"Why?" Arcadia was clearly confused about the situation.

"You guys are a little family now, so it's for the best." He smiled at the girl, confusing her even further, but even so, she'd take it. She didn't want to deal with sleeping in the bar anyway.

So, now that it was dinner time, everyone sat down to eat together, minus Gowther, due to him not eating. No one particularly liked the food Meliodas had prepared for them, but they all ate it anyway. Except for Arcadia.

"Not hungry?" Hendrickson questioned when he noticed the girl didn't eat anything.

"No, just not wanting to get food poisoning from his food again."

"Again?"

"Yeah, many years ago I got pretty sick from his food and nearly died."

"I apologized for that!" Meliodas yelled out at the girl.

"I nearly died, you ass, an apology doesn't make it better." Arcadia snapped back with a smile on her face. The group around them smiles at the interaction. It was nice to have some normal bickering among all the heaviness that was going on around them constantly.

Once everyone was done eating, they all split off into little groups of their own. Certain people remained in the bar part to drink a bit while others went off to do their own thing. Hendrickson, Arcadia, and Griamore ended up heading to their bedroom. Griamore wanted both of them to read him a story before he fell asleep and neither of the adults wanted to drink anyway, so they all just wanted to go to bed.

"This is a big bed. I guess all of us can fit on it." Arcadia noted as she sat down on the right side of the bed.

"I wanna sleep in the middle!" Griamore instantly jumped onto the bed and got under the covers. He looked expectantly at the adults with a smile on his face.

"I'll go grab a book and I'll be right back." Arcadia quickly ran up the stairs to grab the book she'd been reading to Griamore earlier. Once she returned, Hendrickson was climbing into bed while Griamore was chatting about the things in the book. Both of them had shed their suits and were in their undershirt and pants. "Alright, I have the book, who do you want to read from it?"

"You already read to me earlier, so I want Hendy to read to me now."

"Alright." Arcadia then handed the book over to Hendrickson and climbed into the bed with the two others.

Arcadia, herself, nearly fell asleep listening to the story, but she managed to stay awake longer than Griamore did. Once Hendrickson noticed that Griamore was sleeping, he stopped reading and marked the page with the bookmark Arcadia had put in it earlier.

"Goodnight Griamore," Arcadia whispered to the now asleep boy. She made sure to tuck him in better and then got herself situated. She slept on her stomach and was facing away from Griamore. "Goodnight... Hendy." She spoke with humor in her voice and nearly laughed as she called him by his nickname.

On his side of the bed, Hendrickson was blushing, much to his concern. He'd never had a girl refer to him as Hendy before, and this time it felt completely different than when the others would call him the name. He was so shocked, that he couldn't even respond to the girl. He just laid down and faced the ceiling. He was thankful that no one was able to see his red face at that moment. He just was also so confused about it as well. He added that to the list of things he needed to talk to Dreyfus about when he got him back.


	3. Feelings

Chapter 3 – Feelings

The next morning, the two adults were awoken by crying. They were shocked out of their sleep to look over at Griamore. He was sitting up in bed as he sobbed to himself.

"What's wrong, Griamore?" Arcadia instantly asked the boy, worry fully clear in her voice.

"I had a bad dream!" Griamore cried out as he began to wipe away at his tears. He then threw himself at Arcadia and began to cry on her.  
"Shh, it's alright now. The bad dream is over. There's nothing to be scared of. Remember, you have two strong people right next to you, and a bunch of others scattered around this place." Arcadia was trying her best at calming the boy down, but it just wasn't working, so she looked over at Hendrickson for help.

"Griamore, it's alright. Everything is okay. Nothing can hurt you now." Hendrickson tried next. It seemed enough to be able to calm down the boy, much to Arcadia's relief.

"Everything is okay?" Griamore questioned, looking over at Hendrickson. The man just nodded his head and opened his mouth to speak, only to be stopped by the door flying open.

"Breakfast is ready!" It was Gowther. He startled the three of them and caused Griamore to begin to cry once again. "Oh..." Gowther just slowly closed the door and escaped away.

"Dammit." Arcadia cursed as she looked back down to the crying boy. She sighed mostly to herself and then began to speak again. "Don't worry Griamore, it was just Gowther. Now let's go get breakfast, shall we?" The crying boy nodded his head and climbed out of the girl's arms. Once he was off the bed, he put his little suit back on. Hendrickson followed after him and did so as well while Arcadia put her cloak back around her shoulders.

Once everyone was dressed yet again, the three of them headed down to the bar to find breakfast. Again, however, Arcadia did not eat. She was too wary of Meliodas's cooking, so she chose not to eat. She could go long without eating anyway, so it didn't really matter too much.

After lunch, Griamore decided to run around a bit, which caused him to trip and fall. As Arcadia watched Hendrickson heal the boy a strange feeling built up within her. It apparently was strong enough for the druid to notice.

"Arcadia, is there something wrong?"

"I just... I guess I'm just jealous that you can heal people. I can't."

"Why not? You're of the goddess clan."

"Only halfway. Besides, I was raised by demons, so I never really got a chance to learn from the other half of my family."

"I see... well, I am only a druid, but it's possible I could teach you to heal and possibly purge things." That caused Arcadia to step closer to him with a huge smile on her face.

"Really? You'd do that?" She was smiling brightly, which caused a little flutter in his heart and a blush to rise to his face. She was far too close to him though and noticed it instantly. "Sorry about that. I got overly excited." She then took a step backward as she apologized. For some reason, Hendrickson nearly told her she could be as close to him as she wanted to. However, he thankfully kept that thought to himself but was confused by it. He'd never had such a thought before.

"It's alright." Hendrickson managed to get out finally once he collected himself.

"This means a lot to me. I'm so tired of just being able to use my demonic powe-."

"Hey guys, look what I just found!" Meliodas suddenly spoke as he came into the room, interrupting the girl. Everyone turned to face him and noticed he had a piece of paper in his hands. Meliodas read the paper out loud revealing the upcoming fighting festival. "The winner gets any wish granted...?" He spoke, finishing up the reading.

"Vaizel!" Elizabeth gasped out looking a little worried.

"The town that Diane leveled?" The pig commented next.

"What a tempting prize, don't ya think?" Meliodas mused as he re-read the paper. "I can expand the bar... it's getting a little small."

"No, no, no! This is definitely suspicious!" Howzer yelled out, horrified at the man's words.

"Are the Ten Commandments behind this?" Another person yelled out in the crowd.

"Probably... What other group would do something like using a demon to send out flyers."

"Come on, Meliodas no matter how you think about it-" Hawk was cut off by Hendrickson speaking over him.

"No matter how you think about it, it's a trap!"

"Don't steal my line!" The pig yelled at the older man, much to Arcadia's amusement. While everyone broke out into their own thoughts, Gilthunder seemed to be conflicted over the whole situation. So, being his best friend, Howzer approached him.

"Gil, you seriously want to enter the festival, even when you know it's a trap?"

"What? I didn't say anything..."

"You had this extremely excited look on your face..." Howzer seemed to be quite concerned for his friend.

"We can't sense Escanor anymore, so let's swing by and take a look." Meliodas finally declared excitedly.

"A...Are you serious? Unless... Do you have a plan?" Hendrickson questioned in disbelief.

"Nope! It just looks like a ton of fun!" That caused many of the group to nearly fall over as Gilthunder cheered to himself. Arcadia just laughed with Griamore by her side holding onto her leg. The little boy was a little lost on the situation.

"Arc, what's going on?" Griamore questioned, worried about why everyone was acting so different.

"We're going to be going to a fighting festival and everyone is reacting to that."

"I see." He then lifted his arms up, letting the girl know he wanted to be picked up. Arcadia then picked up the little boy and approached Hendrickson.

"So, what do you think about our new plans?" Arcadia asked Hendrickson once he recovered from Meliodas's declaration.

"I think..." Hendrickson then sighed and shook his head.

"I see." Arcadia just laughed and smiled up at the man. He couldn't help but smirk back at her until Meliodas approached them and ruined their moment.

"So, I see you two are getting along." Meliodas had a hint of teasing in his voice, which caused Elizabeth to turn around.

"Sir Meliodas, don't tease them."

"I... What are you getting at Meliodas?" Arcadia questioned, a little nervous about what the blond man's answer would be.

"I'm just saying I haven't seen you get along with anyone so well since Fraudrin, so I'm just happy for you." Both Arcadia and Hendrickson's faces went slightly red and the girl began sputtering.

"It's... What? No... I... IT'S NOTHING LIKE THAT!" Arcadia quickly got out before shoving Griamore into Hendrickson's arms and disappearing out the door. She allowed her wings to be revealed and flew off of the giant moving pig. She flew out of sight in a moment.

"Where did Lady Arcadia go? Sir Meliodas what did you just do?"

"Where did Arc go?" Griamore began to sniffle as if he was going to cry.

"Don't worry, she'll be back... eventually," Meliodas spoke as he turned around to face Elizabeth. The two then got into a conversation as Hendrickson stood there slightly embarrassed still and confused. He didn't understand why Arcadia got so flustered over the situation. It was another one of those moments he wished he had someone to talk to, meaning Dreyfus. Hendrickson was then shocked from his thoughts by Gowther jumping up on a table.

"Onwards, towards the grand battle festival of Vaizel! We, who seek that which we have lost, must venture forth!"

"Sir Gowther... Why are you shouting random quotes out of the blue?" Arthur questioned, a little shocked at the situation.

"Don't mind him. He's always had a few screws loose." Meliodas spoke next, reassuring the orange haired boy. "Get off the damn table."

"Hendy, I want you to keep reading me the story from last night," Griamore spoke suddenly.

"Alright." Hendrickson then made his way back to the bedroom they stayed in last night and grabbed the book but instead of opening it, he looked over at the young boy. "Say Griamore..."

"What is it?"

"What do you think about Arcadia's reaction to what Meliodas said?"

"You mean when he hinted at a relationship between the two of you?" Hendrickson was a little shocked that the kid was able to get that, but still, he nodded his head. "Well, maybe she has a crush on you or something."

"A crush?"

"Yeah, you know, like maybe she like likes you."

"Of course..." Hendrickson was still a little confused, but he mostly understood what the little boy was trying to say.

"What do you feel for her?" Hendrickson couldn't believe he was getting asked such a thing from a child, but he chose to answer anyway.

"I feel confused. I haven't known her long enough, nor have I ever felt something for a woman before. Even so, I like her well enough to comfortably speak with her."

"Can you talk with any other woman like that?"

"No..." Hendrickson didn't want to admit how flustered he used to become whenever a woman spoke to him. He was once quite shy before his personality became twisted. Even now he was still trying to find his way back to being who he once was, even if he could never be that man again. That meant he was slowly becoming shy towards women again. However, he was never shy when it came to Arcadia. He'd been comfortable with her from the start. He wondered if that was due to him being a druid and her being a half-goddess.

Suddenly, the door to the bedroom opened startling both of the people in the room. There stood Arcadia. She looked a little irritated and her hair was slightly messed up but that was obviously from the fact that she'd just been flying around.

"Arc!" Griamore was excited to see the girl. He was worried that she'd never return to him. He instantly climbed off of the bed and ran to her.

"Hey there, little one. How are you? You seem to have missed me even though I was only gone a few minutes." Arcadia responded as she leaned down to hug the little boy who was hugging her legs.

"I did miss you. Now goodbye!" With that, Griamore ran out of the room.

"Uh what? Is he going to be alright on his own?"

"I'm sure someone will look after him," Hendrickson responded simply. There was awkward tension between the two adults, so to end that tension, Arcadia made her way to the bed and sat down on it across from Hendrickson.

"So, what did you and Griamore talk about while I was gone?"

"You."

"M-Me?!" Arcadia's face instantly went completely red.

"Yes, Griamore questioned my feelings for you... and your feelings for me." Hendrickson was looking away from the girl. His face has a tinge of pink as well.

"I see. Well if you're curious about my feelings for you, then you can ask me yourself."

"Wh...What are your feelings..." Hendrickson was suddenly strangely nervous to ask such a question. He wasn't sure what got into him, but he was extremely embarrassed now.

"Well, I wouldn't go as far to say I am in love with you or anything, but there is definitely something there. I'm not sure what it is yet, but I feel something for you. It's odd though, I don't usually feel anything towards humans."

"I see..." Hendrickson felt better after hearing her words. It was like a weight lifted off his shoulders but was instantly replaced by another one. "However, I do not deserve such feelings."

"You told me all about what happened with you, but I don't feel like you are completely at fault. Besides, if I care about you, knowing such things than you must know my feelings are true for you." Arcadia took one of Hendrickson's hands and held it in her own. That caused him to turn finally and look at her face, which had a gentle smile on it. "Now, tell me what you feel for me. I'm no child, so you don't need to sugarcoat anything."

"I have similar feelings towards you as what you said for me. I've never been in love so I wouldn't know what that feels like, but I know my feelings aren't that strong quite yet. Even so, there is something there..."

"You've never been in love before?"

"Never."

"Wow, you're a little purer than I thought."

"Pu-Pure?" Hendrickson's face turned red now at the word. That just caused Arcadia to just laugh at the man.

"Maybe that was the wrong word, but still." After the girl's laughter died down, the two sat in silence. Arcadia still was holding Hendrickson's hand and smiling at him. He allowed a small smile to appear on his face as well.

Even though Hendrickson still thought he didn't deserve such feelings, this girl in front of him was beginning to open up his heart. He just wished that Dreyfus could be there to see him now. After all, this was the first woman to catch his eye seriously and he wasn't sure how to go about the things that were cure to come next.


	4. Fighting Festival Part 1

Chapter 4 – Fighting Festival Part 1

Hendrickson and Arcadia remained sitting together in silence for what felt like hours. It was a comfortable silence. They were so caught up in each other, that they didn't notice that the pig stopped moving.

"Hey guys, we're here!" Meliodas yelled out up the stairs. It shocked both people out of their daze. They quickly moved away from each other and stood up. Hendrickson instantly went to grab his sword where he'd put it.

"So um... I guess we should get going." Arcadia muttered as she looked around for where she put her sword. Hendrickson just watched her and pointed out her sword for her when he realized she was too flustered to figure it out herself. "Thank you." The woman collected her weapon and then followed him down the stairs to the bar. Everyone else already was there and waiting with their weapons as well.

"Alright, so now that everyone is here, let's get going," Meliodas stated as he began to leave the bar. Everyone followed him, with Hendrickson picking up Griamore on his way out. He told Griamore to ride on his back and to hold on tightly. Arcadia chose to walk a little further behind them, partly to avoid Hendrickson and partly to keep an eye on Griamore.

They were all shocked to see what Vaizel had become. It was now a large maze and everyone walked in a huge group towards it. It didn't take long for them all to enter the maze. As they all walked, everything seemed too normal, and of course, something had to appear and ruin the calmness that they all felt in that moment. Giant spiked balls came out of nowhere and began to chase the group.

Quickly everyone took off running, but the ground gave out in some places, separating the group into many smaller groups. Arcadia, Hendrickson, Griamore, Slader, Gilthunder, and Howzer all ended up in the same location. They also all landed on differently. Howzer and Arcadia didn't land on their feet while the other three adults did, and Griamore was now in Hendrickson's arms protectively.

"Well... that happened." Arcadia stood up and dusted herself off.

"Are you alright?" Hendrickson questioned as he approached the girl. She just nodded her head and smiled up at him. The two stood there for a moment, just looking at each other.

"Are you two going to keep flirting, or are we going to go through this maze?" Slader asked, breaking the little connection Hendrickson and Arcadia were having at that moment.

"Right, maze..." Arcadia spoke, shaking her head. She was allowing her emotions to get the better of her.

So, with Griamore back on his back, Hendrickson began walking. Slader walked in front with Hendrickson right after him. Arcadia walked a little bit behind the white-haired man, and Gilthunder and Howzer were walking in the back.

"So, what's our plan? I'm sure we'll come across more traps throughout this." Arcadia noted to everyone.

"We just need to stay close and to watch each other's backs," Slader commented simply. He was clearly taking charge of the situation.

"Alright." Both Hendrickson and Arcadia responded, walking a little closer to Slader. However, when Gilthunder and Howzer didn't respond, and there was no noise of them shuffling closer, Arcadia turned around. "Um... Where did Howzer and Gilthunder go?"

"What?" Both men turned around to see no one behind Arcadia. "Where did they go?" Slader was confused as to where and how the other men could have disappeared so quickly and without anyone noticing.

"Should we be worried and go looking for them?"

"No, Gilthunder and Howzer are strong knights, they will be fine on their own," Hendrickson reassured the little group. Taking his word, Slader began to walk again. Arcadia actually began to walk a little faster and closer to Hendrickson and Griamore now. She didn't want to be left behind or get lost.

For a little while after that, everything was silent. A little too silent for Arcadia, making her on edge and jumpy. Any little thing, like a crunch from under someone's foot to someone in the distance talking loudly scared the poor girl. She could almost sense the danger that was approaching, but soon the ground underneath the three adults began to move.

"The fuck?!" Arcadia yelled out as she nearly fell over due to the movement under her. Hendrickson also almost fell over as the movement happened. Only Slader remained standing upright and normal as the ground shifted. The three adults and one child watched as the ground continued to move in front of them until it came to a stop. It then seemed like there was something down there turning around and started coming closer to the surface. Suddenly, the giant ground monster appeared in front of them.

"Hendy, what is that?" Griamore questioned horrified at the huge monster that they were now facing.

"It's a sand-crawler..." Arcadia answered instead of Hendrickson. Fear was in her voice. "They'll try to eat people when they get that big." As if on cue, the monster began to dart at them. Arcadia, uncharacteristically, screamed out like a child while Griamore also screamed loudly.

Thankfully, everyone was able to get out of the way of the monster as it charged at them and went back underground. They all remained still until it reappeared. Then Slader moved to try to cut it, but his weapon only slid right off of it, causing him to fall over the monster and land on his feet.

"Run," Slader instructed once he realized that they were not equipped to fight the monster at that moment in time. So, that's just what the three adults did. They ran away for their lives. Arcadia made sure to keep an eye on Hendrickson as they ran, for the sake of Griamore, but Hendrickson had it covered. He was holding the boy in his arms now as he ran.

Eventually, the three adults lost the sand-crawler. However, they then ran into another one, but quickly hid from it. Slader was hiding behind one piece of a conveniently placed building as Hendrickson, Griamore, and Arcadia hid behind another. It seemed to work well enough as the large monster paid them no mind.

That was until Griamore sneezed. Then the monster locked onto them and began to hunt them. That caused Hendrickson to need to put a hand over the little boy's face to ensure he didn't scream out or make any more noises.

It felt like forever to the little group. They were waiting patiently for the monster to find and eat them, or for it to just go away. However, Arcadia began to lose patience. She knew she could do something to help, so she quickly pulled out her sword and moved away from Hendrickson and Griamore.

"What are you doing?" Slader questioned as Arcadia walked passed him. "Swords won't work on that thing."

"I know, I just need to touch it though. I got this... I hope..." Arcadia seemed to be unsure, but the sand-crawler now noticed her, so it now forced her hand. She had to do what she'd planned on doing now.

As the sand-crawler came close to her, she brought out her wings and flew above it. She then landed on it and put her sword against it. Not trying to cut it at all. She just wanted to touch it gently with her sword so the weapon didn't slide off.

"Now, disintegrate." The three other members of her group watched as the sand-crawler did indeed disintegrate away into nothingness.

"I didn't know you could do that," Hendrickson stated what they were all thinking at that moment. The girl just laughed and smiled down at Hendrickson.

"There's a lot I haven't shown you yet." She then flew back down to him and had her wings disappear once again. She now had a frown on her face. "I didn't really want to kill it, but it wanted to kill us..."

"It's alright, Arc. You saved us!" Griamore smiled at the girl, hoping to cheer her up. It seemingly worked as she smiled back at the little boy.

"Now, let's get out of this maze," Slader stated, bring everyone's attention back to focus.

"Right!" The three adults walked closely together, with Griamore again on Hendrickson's back. They only took a few turns, when surprisingly, they found the center of the maze.

"Is... Is this it?" Arcadia hesitantly questioned as they looked upon the other finishers.

"I believe so," Hendrickson responded simply, though he too was a bit shocked they'd found the end so easily.

"We must have gotten so close when we were running for our lives." Arcadia smiled up at the two men who surrounded her. "I guess we outsmarted the maze by accident."

"It seems like we did," Slader noted as he looked around. He saw King over in the distance with his own little group, but it seemed like it was in the middle of staring up at something, so they all left him alone. It seemed like King was almost in a daze with the young girl he was floating next to, who could only be assumed to be another fairy.

"What do you think they are looking at?" Griamore questioned as he too looked up to where they were looking. Suddenly, a chill ran through Arcadia and she visibly shivered.

"Are you alright?" Hendrickson asked worried about the girl suddenly. She was no longer smiling and was now looking up to the same place as King and the other fairy.

"It's the Ten Commandments. Only two of them though..."

"We figured they would be here, what's gotten you shaken up?" Slader was the one talking now. He'd become curious as to why the girl suddenly changed her attitude.

"Well... they are watching over us right now... it's just making me a little nervous I guess..."

"What aren't you telling us?"

"I know them personally... So I'm just nervous they will recognize me." She wasn't sure how they would take her knowing them, but both men and the child didn't seem to care at all about it. If they were bothered by it, they didn't show it.

"How do you think they'll react to seeing you now?" Hendrickson questioned after a moment of silent thinking.

"I'm not sure. The two I'm sensing were ones I was never quite close with, and it's been quite some time. I was just a child when they saw me last."

"You were close with some of them?" Slader asked next, curious once again.

"The actual ones that are demons, yes. They are my family... Oh, wait, forget that last part. You can't know that yet." Arcadia quickly turned away from the men and put her attention upwards. "Anyway, I don't think they have noticed me yet. So it's alright. They probably won't even recognize me... Hopefully not anyway."

Everything then went silent for the little group. Well, it was actually silent overall. No one was really talking with each other. So, it was peacefully quiet, until loud bangs and crashes could be heard getting closer. Eventually, everyone noticed and turned around to look at the direction the noise was coming from.

"The hell is that?" Arcadia asked the question most of the people there were now wondering. However, no one needed to answer her, for the answer came in the form of the wall behind them breaking apart, revealing the rest of their group.

Walking through the hole came Meliodas, Elizabeth, Hawk, Gilthunder, Arthur, Howzer and three people Arcadia didn't recognize. They were Ban, Diane and the man who'd helped them take care of a sand-crawler.

"Hmm? What a wonderful fragrance of sweet flowers..." The pig noted mostly to himself.

"S...Sir Meliodas!" Hendrickson muttered, relieved to see the man once again.

"Yo! Sorry to keep you all waiting!" Meliodas returned with a smile on his face. "I see you did a good job at keeping Arcadia safe, you have my thanks for that."

"Yes, of course." Hendrickson was a little confused as to why the blond would care, but the white-haired man wrote it off due to them being past friends.

"If anyone's going to turn back... do it now while you can... Because those are the Ten Commandments." Meliodas spoke to the whole group. They all could feel the ominous presence of the Ten Commandments. Arcadia didn't even notice it before, but now that it'd been mentioned, she became even more nervous.

"To the competitors from all the various races, welcome atop this summit to this time killing- I mean the grand battle festival! To start off you'll be figh-" The Ten Commandment was cut off by someone else speaking over him.

"There's one thing we'd like to make sure of first. We could give two shits about who you or what you really are, but how about giving us some kind of proof as to this whole being about to grant any wish we make deal? Otherwise, if this is all a big hoax, you'd better be ready to cough up some compensation for dragging our asses all the way out here!"

"I'm getting to that! But first off, we'll have to prepare the stage that you'll be fighting on. If you could, Dolor!"

"Trying to avoid the question are we?!" The giant on the top of the peak suddenly did come moves with his arms and suddenly the ground beneath everyone began to shake.

"Wh...what's this shaking?" Griamore questioned, completely horrified. Arcadia took a step closer to him and Hendrickson, nearly touching them now. She too was afraid, not that she'd admit it though.

Suddenly, two giant hands appeared around the large boulder that the two Ten Commandments stood on. Everyone could see them once the dust cleared after a few seconds, leaving some of them to gasp in awe or horror.

"Marvelous! This is the stage upon which you will all battle! Well, I'd like to go ahead and kick off the events, so we'll cut off any further entrants here." The Ten Commandment spoke before smiling and continuing. "But since there are still some roaches wandering drift in the labyrinth, I'll have to do a bit of house cleaning."

"What does he mean?" Griamore whispered to Arcadia, a little confused but still terrified. Suddenly the Ten Commandment let out a bunch of thorny vines that went all throughout the maze, killing everyone all at once.

"All of the life that was still within the labyrinth... in an instant... all of it... just vanished." A little child stated, shocking everyone around them.

"Hendy, I'm scared..." Griamore muttered, becoming more scared than he was before.

"Just keep hiding behind me!" Hendrickson responded protectively. Arcadia took another step closer to them and actually put a hand on Hendrickson's arm. She was actually quite scared too. "It'll be alright..." Hendrickson tried to reassure the girl, even though neither of them truly believed that at that moment in time.

"Death thorn is a terrifying ivy extracted from the sunflower atop the highest stratum of the holy tree... its sole purpose is to destroy and eradicate anything that would bring it harm. An...And Vasquez is the legendary spear granted to the very first person ever chosen by the Holy Tree!" King ranted on, beginning to become just as scared as some of the other people there. "Why... How... are you here? Your life should have been forfeit in that battle 3,000 years ago?! The first fairy king, Gloxinia!"

Everyone was now staring up at the fairy with the most beautiful wings any of them had ever seen in their lives.

"Ah, that was my title once, long ago... but now, I am the Ten Commandments Gloxinia of repose."

"A fairy?" Griamore asked hesitantly as he looked up at the beautiful wings.

"Yes, a very old and dangerous fairy..." Arcadia responded just as hesitantly. As the two scared friends talked to each other, the fairy called out someone else who was hiding behind the giant's foot.

"Come on, you're up! Our organization assistant, Taizoo!"

"Y...Yes, sir!" The man who'd been hiding behind a giant foot came out and walked to the edge. "Welcome you battle starved beasts! It seems there were a lot more of you that cleared the labyrinth than we expected! So, to kick things off, we'll start with pairs battling it out in a tag-team match competition! Who's with me?!" The man was yelling quite loud and literally, no one responded to his question. "Tough crowd..."

Suddenly, another voice rang out.


	5. Fighting Festival Part 2

Chapter 5 – Fighting Festival Part 2

"Wait one second! You've still got another competitor!" Someone then jumped off something, as they did a few flips, but it was clear by the hair color who it was. "Gowther is on the scene!" He yelled out when he landed.

"Sir Gowther, you're alright!" Arthur spoke, relieved and glad to see the man.

"Huh? I thought he said something about all the life in the labyrinth having vanished?" Howzer questioned looking over at his best friend, Gilthunder.

"Umm, would you mind moving your foot just a bit?" Gowther had landed right on someone, and that someone was Escanor.

"My apologies. It appears I may have slightly miscalculated my landing position." Gowther quickly moved his foot off of the poor man. Suddenly though, Escanor began to scream once his glasses broke and fell off of his face. "Escanor, it's been forever."

"What the hell is happening?" Arcadia questioned mostly to herself, but before anything could be said to her, the first fairy king stabbed the screaming man through the chest with his weapon.

"ESCANOR!" Multiple people in the group screamed out as they watched their friend start dying. A few of the sins began to run over to the fallen man.

"I mean, the sooner we get this festival started, the sooner we can grant whatever wishes the victor may have. For example..." The first fairy king muttered as he watched the dying man as well with a smile on his face.

"I... I still haven't... told Merlin... I... I can't die yet... I don't want to... not like this..." Escanor murmured as he slowly died. However, Gloxinia was changing his spirit spear into a giant flower. It then dripped some liquid from its center.

"Just like this!" Gloxinia finished his sentence from a moment ago. "Drop of life!" Suddenly, once the liquid touched Escanor, all his wounds began to heal and he was saved from his slow and painful death. Everyone watching, except Arcadia and a few others, was shocked to see such a thing happening.

"Th...That's..." Ban stuttered out, in complete shock.

"Wh...what's going on? Didn't I just get impaled through my abdomen?"

"Now that I've given everyone just a little taste, let's hurry up and split them up into pairs! Well then... the honor's all yours, Drole!" Gloxinia yelled out, as he looked over at his giant companion.

"Teams of two, right?" Drole responded as he began to make more arm movements with his four arms. Just then, the ground under everyone began to shake and separate. Everyone was on their own little chunk of earth floating in the air.

"What... is the meaning of this?" Hendrickson muttered as he protectively had a hand on Griamore. The little child was now at his side, along with Arcadia, who'd held onto the man as the separations began. All three of them were kept together, much to the adults' relief.

"Those standing on the same floating rocks have been chosen by fate to team together... Now... Put your lives and pride on the line and prepare to battle!" Drole yelled out after everyone was settling down.

"Are you hurt?" Hendrickson then asked the little boy who was sniffling and about to cry yet again. He had a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"No... Just... scared..." Griamore responded hesitantly as he fought back tears.

"They intend to drag a child into his mess!" Hendrickson growled, protectively holding Griamore to his chest now. As Hendrickson was tending to Griamore, Arcadia looked around at everyone else.

Meliodas and Ban ended up fighting together.

Elizabeth and Elaine ended up together.

Diane and King ended up fighting together.

Two assassins, Tora and Jigmo, from the same squad ended up fighting together.

The third assassin, Estaro, and the monk, Arbus ended up together.

Arthur and a foreign swordsman, Nanashi, ended up together.

Howzer and that child from earlier, Solatido ended up together.

Slader and a gladiator, Hyphan ended up fighting together.

Gilthunder and the magician who saved him, Gilfrost ended up together.

Escanor ended up with Hawk.

Jericho and Gowther ended up together.

Matrona and Oslow ended up together.

Holy Knight Silver and a demon, Quazzo ended up together.

Two demons, Dolzzo and Calzzo ended up together.

Finally, two clones, one of Drole and one of a fairy were together.

"Now then, at last, the tag team matches can begin in earnest! Each of your platforms has now arrived at a random one of the stages. The other pair that also arrives there with you will be your opponent in this first round!" Taizoo yelled out to everyone as the floating pieces of earth began to move around.

"So, we're up against an assassin and a monk..." Arcadia noted once the floating rocks stopped moving and she was able to see who their opponents were.

"Arcadia, take Griamore and-" Hendrickson was cut off by Arcadia drawing her sword.

"You watch over the kid, I'll protect you both!" Arcadia snapped instantly. She was on edge and it was obvious. She didn't say it out loud, but she was on edge because of the monk and his staff. Within his staff was a member of the goddess clan.

"A-Alright..." Hendrickson was a bit taken aback by Arcadia's harsh tone with him. He didn't understand now, but she vowed to explain it later when they weren't in serious danger.

"A little girl is going to fight us? How pathetic!" The assassin, Estaro muttered as he began to laugh.

"Now, now, don't be so rude, she's more powerful than she looks," Arbus responded as he stepped forward with his staff in hand.

"Sure, whatever you say. Just let me fight the girl."

"Shut up both of you!" Arcadia pointed her sword as the assassin first. "Come at me and see what you can do." Sure enough, he took the bait and darted at her. He moved faster than she expected and stabbed her abdomen.

"You are now poisoned! You will-" He was cut off by her swinging her sword down onto his head. She used it on the flat side so it just knocked him out.

"Sorry, but I'm immune to poison. That knife hurt though and you ruined my shirt." Arcadia spoke to the now unconscious man. She looked down and removed the knife from her stomach. Blood began to pour out, but she turned to Hendrickson with a smile anyway. "Heal me please."

"Arcadia!" Hendrickson's tone was a mix of scolding and worry. He instantly put a hand over her wound and healed it. It only took a second for the wound to close and the blood to disappear.

"Thank you." The girl muttered before turning to the monk. She then walked away from Hendrickson and spoke once more with her voice lowered. Only the monk in front of her could hear her next words. "You need to give me that staff, it's dangerous for a human to have." Instead of responding, he swung his staff at her. She dodged it, of course, and tried to hit him with her sword, but missed as he dodged as well. "Please, human you don't know what's going to happen to you if you keep being around that staff!"

"Arcadia?" Hendrickson now heard what the girl was saying and was becoming worried as well.

"I don't want to have to hurt you." Arbus had a sinister smirk on his face, despite the words that came out of his mouth. The monk then darted forward, catching Arcadia off guard, but was stopped by Hendrickson's sword coming at him.

"Stay away from her." Determination was written on the white-haired man's face.

"Hendrickson?" Arcadia hesitantly took a step to the side and looked over at him.

"I won't let you fight on your own."

"I can protect myself!"

"I don't doubt that... but I cannot lose another person important to me." That stopped Arcadia's irritation instantly and replaced it with despair. She could feel the weight behind his words and the feelings of regret and sadness he felt from losing those he cared for.

"I understand. Let's fight together!" She said that, but she then became distracted by a strong power that suddenly appeared over in another part of the giant hands. "Escanor?" She followed the power to see the puffed up and stronger looking man.

"This is quite an unexpected effect. To think a completely abstracted pseudo-image of the "sun" in your mind's world would produce such a response." Gowther mused as he cocked his head to the side as he looked up at the now giant Escanor. "well, being a pseudo-transformation, it's a ways off from the real thing... I estimate you can only keep that form up for a few seconds... at best." Gowther was now backing away from the man in front of him.

"A few seconds is all I will need." Escanor then swiped Gowther across the face, resulting in the other man's glasses to be taken off.

"Give me back... my glasses!" The doll then began to blindly use his powers, causing Jericho and Hawk to dodge fearfully. Escanor just jumped up, avoiding it all altogether.

"Heed my will... Come to me, Divine axe Rhitta." Escanor held out his hand, and a few seconds later as he was coming down from his jump, his weapon came flying into his hand. "Holy armament release." As the man came down fast, his power built up. "For the sin of toying with the hearts of others... atone for your deeds with your body!"

"Bring it on!"

The two used their powers at full strength, causing bright light and massive power to flow all around them. Mostly everyone shielded themselves, while Hendrickson wrapped his arms protectively around Griamore and Arcadia. Strong winds nearly blew people off of their posts, but thankfully everyone was okay. Arcadia and Griamore were safe only due to Hendrickson keeping such a tight grip on them. Once the dust cleared, everyone could see the damage that'd happened. Escanor was frozen and hit by Gowther's power.

"Victory is mine." The unharmed Gowther stated angrily. "Scrap captain, hand me back my glasses."

"Y-Yes, sir!" Hawk responded horrified as he quickly went and retrieved the glasses. "H-here you go..."

"Escanor..." Jericho muttered, staring shocked at the unconscious body of the man. "What the fuck kind of 'victory' are you talking about?!"

"Was I not being clear? He has fallen. I am still standing so..."

"Gowther! You son of a bitch... Can't you sympathize with Escanor... with his heart... at all!?"

"Escanor's heart...? As I recall, he was rather irritated with me..."

"Look there and then try saying that again! Escanor only wanted to open your eyes and show you the light!" Jericho then pointed to where dust was still clearing out. Gowther followed her pointing and looked down off of the finger he was on only to see the two Ten Commandments injured and bloody. Escanor's true aim was to hit them all along, never to hit Gowther.

"I was careless... I did not pay enough heed to that man's massive magic power! To think... he'd channel all of his attack directly at us.."

"Oh my god..." Arcadia muttered, shocked at what was right in front of her. She'd never seen two Ten Commandments taken out so easily. She was so shocked, she nearly didn't even noticed that Meliodas had jumped down and landed right with them.

"Enough foreplay... let's get the real festival started..." Meliodas growled to the two Ten Commandments as he stood there in front of them. As Drole tried to move, Meliodas moved faster and kicked the giant's hand causing it to go flying backward. He then countered perfectly every hand that was thrown his way. He'd moved so fast that he was even able to get a solid punch in on Drole, causing the giant to fall backward. The blond man then pulled out his sword, Lostvayne, and cut off two of Drole arms.

"So this is what you had up your sleeve..." Drole commented as he tasted his own blood.

"I was just waiting for an opening... A window of opportunity so that I could pulverize the both of you into oblivion."

"I can't believe it..." Arcadia was terrified at that moment in time as she watched Meliodas and Drole talk to each other.

Suddenly though, Drole began to wave around his remaining arms and the ground underneath everyone began to shake yet again. The hands then threw everybody towards the center and closed with everyone trapped inside. A chorus of screams rang out as everyone began to fall. Hendrickson kept a tight hold on Griamore with one arm, and then with his other hand kept ahold of Arcadia's arm. He refused to let either one go as all three fell together. Everyone landed painfully, but thankfully no one was killed or badly injured.

"Are you alright, you two?" Hendrickson asked the two people in his arms. Griamore was crying now, but otherwise was fine and Arcadia just smiled up at Hendrickson.

"Thank you, I'm alright." The girl responded simply as she looked Hendrickson over to make sure he had no injuries as well. She then turned her attention to the others around her.

"What a terrifying clash of energy!" Gowther stated as he held Escanor.

"Trying to take on those two monsters by himself... that's reckless even for his standards!" Howzer yelled out, horrified.

"Sir Meliodas!" Elizabeth screamed loudly, not that the man could hear her anyway.

"C'mon, you bastards! We all gotta go back up Meliodas!" Hawk was the next one to yell out.

"And what could we hope to accomplish by going?" Ban demanded as he walked over to the little group. "We'd be nothing more than target practice if we stood in the midst of that... The only thing we'd end up doing is being a burden to the captain and getting in his way..."

"No..." Elizabeth gasped as she shook in fear.

"It's just as Ban says... The Ten Commandments have power that's far beyond any enemy we've fought up till now. To be perfectly frank... at this present moment, the only one that stands a chance against them is Meliodas... we've got to leave it to him. Us going there would only hold him back."

"Even so, us being trapped in here isn't helping matters much is it?" Gilthunder mentioned as Howzer tried using his weapon on the walls around him.

"This damn bedrock. This whole place could come down on us if we tried to escape through. How the hell are we going to get out of here?" Howzer swore as he gave up with trying to poke at the walls.

"You can leave that to me. I can teleport all of us here to somewhere safe."

"Gilfrost was it? Can you really transport this many people all at once?" Diane questioned after the blond man spoke.

"Well... it can't hurt to try." With a few people trying to say no, Gilfrost transported everyone there to another place. Once everyone was there, Elizabeth looked around, shocked.

"I-Is this... castle Liones?"

"Whoa! Not too shabby!" Howzer yelled out, surprised as he looked over to the panting man who'd used too much magical power. Suddenly, a shockwave was sent through the ground, causing everyone to shake. "N-No way... it can't be..."

"The shockwaves from the battle in Vaizel are reverberating all the way here?!" Another person yelled out, shocked.

"The Ten Commandments should have never been allowed to awaken! Likening their coming to a cataclysm would be an understatement..." Gilfrost's words caused Hendrickson to look down at the ground and Griamore to worriedly look up at him.

"No... what about Sir Meliodas!" Elizabeth yelled out with fear in her voice. Gilfrost has pulled out a crystal ball and was looking into it now.

"That's exactly what has me so terrified..."

"Huh?"

"Meliodas has... made quick work of them..." Everyone began to look inside the ball to watch what was going on.

"Hendy, are you alright?" Griamore questioned as he looked up at the adult. The little boy could tell that there was something wrong with the man.

"I'm fine." Hendrickson simply stated as he patted the boy's head. Arcadia put her hand on Hendrickson's arm to reassure him that it was alright.

Everyone continued to watch Meliodas fight the two Ten Commandments and it seemed like he was winning. That was until things suddenly smacked down on the battlefield causing a huge plume of dust and debris to fly everywhere.


	6. Fight to the Death

Chapter 6 – Fight To The Death

With a massive collision, the remaining members of the Ten Commandments appeared on the battlefield.

"Meliodas?! Sir Meliodas?!" Elizabeth yelled out as she began to panic.

"What happened?! Something just came out of the sky from every direction..." Arthur mumbled as he too watched horrified.

"Su-Such magic power..."

"It's like a tidal wave of killing intent just hit the battlefield..." Gowther muttered as he watched what was unfolding.

"Th...This is the worst possible scenario!" Hendrickson gasped out as he realized what was happening. As the dust cleared, everyone was then able to see the situation Meliodas was now in. Every member of the Ten Commandments was there now, minus Galand. So, Derieri, Drole, Estarossa, Fraudrin, Gloxinia, Grayroad, Melascula, Monspeet and Zeldris all stood there around Meliodas. With Zeldris right in front of his older brother. "He's surrounded... by the Ten Commandments..."

"He...hey Gil! That's...!" Howzer tried to say as he looked into the crystal ball. "Great Holy Knight Dreyfus?!"

"Father..." Griamore mumbled as he held onto Hendrickson's arm.

"That's the man with whom you plotted the downfall of our country, Maraiga. What are you planning this time with all of those monsters?! Answer me, Hendrickson!" One of the assassins yelled out.  
"Back off!" Arcadia growled at the shorter man with her power flaring up to ward off the man. He took a step back from them and went back to being silent.

"It's alright, Arcadia."

"No, it isn't." The girl argued back. However, she then turned her attention back to the fight between Meliodas and the Ten Commandments.

Meliodas now had one arm and kicked at his brother. He tried to get his arm back, but Zeldris stopped it from returning to him.

"Get him," Zeldris ordered instantly. Grayroad then wrapped chains around the blond man that quickly faded into his body. Meliodas continued to fight, and when he saw a chance he tried to escape, only to magically appear back where he'd started.

"These are the 'Chains of the Accursed Resentment'. Once you have been cursed, you become unable to leave this place. Death is inescapable." Grayroad explains in her creepy voice.

The next Ten Commandment to fight Meliodas was Derieri. Her attacks were relentlessly one after another.

"S-Something's going on!" Hendrickson noted in shock as he watched.

"The course of her blows is steadily rising..." Howzer finished for the older man. Sure enough, her attacks were getting stronger with every blow.

After she attacked him, Monspeet did his part with Meliodas cutting his throat in the end. Next up was Fraudrin's turn.

"It seems that your fight with Gloxinia and Drole took more out of you than I expected..." Fraudrin spoke with a smile on Dreyfus's face. "I have not forgotten the shame of losing to you at Danafor... However, not finishing me off was also the end of your luck."

"You need to send me there." Arcadia finally spoke up.

"What? You'd only die." Gilfrost snapped back instantly.

"Dreyfus or Hendrickson would not have had to ruin their lives so..." Fraudrin continued to speak as the girl argued with Gilfrost.

"I'm a half-demon and half-goddess. I can handle myself!"

"Arcadia, you can't!" Hendrickson commented, afraid for his friend.

"Send me there. Now." She ignored Hendrickson's words and approached Gilfrost. "Please."

"Fine. You'll probably die, so say your last words." Arcadia nodded her head and turned to Hendrickson and Griamore.

"I might not return. So, I'm sorry." Arcadia patted the crying boy on his head and then stepped closer to Hendrickson.

"Make sure you come back. I don't..."

"I'll try my best to return... to you." With that, Arcadia disappeared. She appeared right in between Meliodas and Fraudrin.

"Stay back!" Arcadia threatened as she pointed her sword at the demon.

"Arcadia?" Meliodas had his sword in his mouth so her name was hard to understand.

"Arc?" Fraudrin questioned a bit startled that she appeared there. He took a step forward only to have her swing her sword at him.

"I said, stay back!"

"Fraudrin, deal with your woman. She's in the way." Derieri grumbled from the sidelines.

"Shut up!" Arcadia snapped angrily at the woman.

"Why are you here? Are you stupid, woman?" Fraudrin snapped showing his true colors.

"I'm stopping you!"

"You're shaking." Arcadia was indeed shaking. She said nothing and didn't get the chance to say anything as the demon just shoved her out of the way and continued to talk. "You know Meliodas, trying to talk to him won't work. No matter how many times you plead to his heart. It will not reach..." However, the mark on his face disappeared and it seemed like Dreyfus came through. "Lord Meliodas..." A tear came from his eye as he raised his sword and attacked Meliodas, sending him flying backward.

"Fraudrin, stop!" Arcadia yelled as she stood back up. The demon then grabbed the girl and pulled her close to him as Gloxinia began his attack.

"You betrayed me."

"You betrayed me first! You killed my mother!"

"She was just a reincarnation of your mother, that's all. Don't tell me, you don't love me anymore?" Fraudrin grabbed her chin and pressed his lips to hers. She instantly shoved him away and turned to see Meliodas powering up. Arcadia got the point and quickly flew out of the way.

"Well, this isn't good," Monspeet spoke as he wrapped his arms around Derieri.

"Damn you... are you saying I will lose to you again?!" Fraudrin growled angrily. Meliodas then swung his sword, only to be stopped by Estarossa. Instantly the power the blond had built up was gone. With that, Meliodas fell backward and landed on his back.

"Hey, Meliodas. To be honest, I don't want to do this at all. I'd rather die." Estarossa then stepped strongly down on Meliodas. "You understand what I'm saying, right? It's because I love you."

"Stop it!" Arcadia cried out and flew back over to shove the tall demon away. "Uncle, please, I'm begging you, stop this now!"

"Back off, Arcadia. Don't make me tell you again."

"Please..."

"Then I'll just kill you first." Estarossa reached out to grab the girl but was stopped by a voice.

"Don't touch her!" Fraudrin snapped instantly as he stepped closer. "You are not permitted to lay a hand on her."

"If I want to kill my niece, I will."

"Arcadia... Don't..." Meliodas choked out painfully. "Get... away..."

"I can't just leave you!"

"Hey, Estarossa. I've got something to say, right from the ass..." Derieri suddenly spoke up, ignoring Arcadia now.

"Alright?"

"I take it this 'something' pertains to how you've been feeling a strange gaze upon us for quite some time now... and it's most likely Meliodas's friends and you're wondering if it's really okay to just leave them be?" Monspeet spoke next for the girl.

"Yeah."

"The Seven Deadly Sins... Meliodas's new comrades..."

"His new comrades, you say..." Estarossa began as he lifted up his hand shoved Arcadia away before leaning down to grab Meliodas. "So... when were you planning on betraying these comrades? You know, kind of like how you stabbed us in the back and abandoned the Ten Commandments back when you were our leader... During your reign... your strength, your ruthlessness, your callous disregard for life... it was terrifying and majestic sight to behold. In the face of that back then, even the goddesses could do nothing but cower, crippled by your presence. Everyone accepted and acknowledges you as the most worthy successor to the demon king. Even I yearned to be like you."  
Estarossa was now holding Meliodas up by his neck.

"Stop it, let him go!" Arcadia yelled as she stood up and moved to stop the demon.

"Then, out of the blue, you blindsided all of us... leading to the evisceration the demon world... leaving it in ruins before you so deftly disappeared. To add insult to injury, you slaughtered two of the Ten Commandments in your wake...And until Drole and Gloxinia recently joined, those two slots for the Ten Commandments had remained empty. Your actions tipped the scales on the balance of power that we'd maintained between the demons and goddesses. Seeing an opening to crush the demon tribe once and for all, the goddesses leaped at the opportunity and incited the rest of the races against us. You lit the fuse that started that war 3,000 years ago. So tell me... how was it you thought up something so incredibly fun?"

"Dammit, Uncle, let him go!" Arcadia was stopped by Fraudrin before she could fly any closer. He grabbed a hold of her and pulled her down.

"So in the Ten Commandments stead, you've got the Seven Deadly Sins this time? You're probably so excited you can hardly bear it... trying to decide how, where, and when your net betrayal will unfold... You really are a twisted fuck." He then dropped Meliodas onto the ground once again.

"Let me go!"

"I cannot." Fraudrin sounded almost sad to have to say that to the girl. "I know you cannot stop me either, so just watch." Melascula was yapping as she was about to eat Meliodas's soul when suddenly her neck snapped. It was Ban, thankfully, who'd appeared only moments ago.

"You mind repeating that? I didn't hear you the first time!" Ban practically sung as he ripped out all her hearts next.

"You goddamned idiot... why the hell... did you come here? Take Arcadia... and go..." Meliodas choked out yet again.

"Idiot? That's rich coming from you... quit tryin' to act all cool."

"You truly are... the biggest fool I've ever known..."

"Ah, well. You know what they say... birds of a feather... flock together"

"That's the Seven Deadly Sins, Ban!" Fraudrin gasped out, loosening his hold on Arcadia for a second. She was able to break free and run to Ban and Meliodas, which was not standing together. Before she could even reach them, Estarossa already passed Ban and stabbed Meliodas.

"No!" Arcadia quickly put herself in between Estarossa and Meliodas. "Stop it, now!"

"After I kill you, Meliodas. Your daughter will be next, but first..." Estarossa stated as he stabbed Arcadia, right into a heart, then shoved her away to fall to the ground. She coughed up blood and got back up, putting her hand over her wound. She couldn't heal herself though, she didn't know how to yet.

"Arcadia!" Fraudrin yelled out, horrified at what had just happened to his former lover.

"Allow me to fill you in on something. We superior demons all possess seven hearts." Estarossa then stabbed Meliodas again. "That makes two. And one for your child. No matter how powerful the demon, once all their hearts are destroyed their death is imminent." By now, Ban was trying to choke out Estarossa, and Arcadia stood in front of him again.

"Not if I break your neck first!" Ban tried hard, he really did, and so did Arcadia. However, the girl was stabbed yet again and tossed to the side. Her powers were nothing compared to Estarossa. She never even got the chance to fight. This time, however, Fraudrin pulled the girl to her feet.

"Don't you dare die on me, Arcadia!" The demon yelled out as they watched another of Meliodas's hearts get stabbed.

"Three, four, five." Estarossa counted as he stabbed each heart perfectly with a new sword each time.

"You'll have to kill the captain over my dead fucking body!" ban yelled out as he tried even harder to break Estarossa's neck.

"Six."

"Don't do it..."

"Don't kill him, please Uncle!" Arcadia couldn't move with Fraudrin holding onto her protectively.

"Farewell... my precious brother... my beloved... Meliodas." With that, the last heart of Meliodas was pierced. Ban yelled out loudly with tears flowing down his face. "You know... with all that shouting you've been doing... you're liable to pop my eardrums. Gnats should know their place..." With that, Ban popped like a balloon.

"No!" Arcadia cried out, falling to the ground. Fraudrin let her go and watched as Estarossa stood proudly.

"Meliodas, as of now, has finally met his demise. Britannia is now the demon tribes' for the taking... let the show begin." With that, the Ten Commandments, minus Fraudrin flew off.

"Join us. We can be like the old days again." Fraudrin held out his hand to the crying girl.

"You killed my mother, and then let my father die, are you fucking kidding me?!" She smacked his hand away from her and glared up at him with hate in her eyes.

"I see..." With that, the demon bent down and kissed the girl's hair before speaking once again. "I..."

"Don't even say you love me, because I know you, a demon, doesn't love me at all..."

"Very well." Then, with those words, Fraudrin flew off as well, leaving the girl all alone with the dead body of her father. The next thing she knew, she heard Elizabeth's voice calling out for Meliodas and Hendrickson calling out for her.

"Over here..." Arcadia managed to call out to them. Instantly, she was able to see the man and the girl. Elizabeth quickly made her way to Meliodas, as Hendrickson made his way to Arcadia.

"You're still alive... I thought you..." Hendrickson gasped out shocked as he dropped to his knees.

"I'm not dead yet..." She smiled up at him, as she leaned against his body. "Please heal me..."

"Of course. That's why I'm here." Hendrickson instantly began to heal the two wounds where her hearts used to be. He couldn't save the destroyed hearts, but he could heal the wounds to stop them from bleeding.

"I didn't die... I came back to you..." Arcadia whispered to the man as he healed her.

"You did a good job of not dying."

"Where's Griamore?"

"With Gil and Howzer. I didn't think he needed to see such a sight." He was referring to the state Meliodas was in.

Elizabeth was now crying and screaming over Meliodas's body. The two adults didn't know what to do, but they knew that they needed to be with her now. With Arcadia now healed, she stood up and walked over to the crying girl.

"Elizabeth..." Arcadia started as she sat down next to the girl. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save him..."

"You called him your father... Can you explain that to me?"

"I can't..."

"I understand..." Elizabeth didn't fully understand despite what she said, but she knew the girl wasn't going to say anything. Suddenly, Gilfrost appeared there.

"Let's go. I'll take you back to Liones."

"No, take me and Meliodas to the Boar Hat... Bring Hawk too..."

"I want to come with you!" Arcadia stated, but Elizabeth just shook her head.

"No, you need to stay with Hendrickson and Griamore."

"I..." There was something Arcadia wanted to say, but she couldn't. So, she just turned to look at Hendrickson and smiled sadly at him. "What now?"

"I... I'm not sure..." The two adults just looked at each other in confusion. They'd just suffered a terrible loss, and now they weren't sure what they were going to do. However, they knew they were going to do it together.


	7. The Day After

Chapter 7 – The Day After

The first thing Hendrickson and Arcadia did after he healed her, was return to Griamore's side with the help of Gilfrost.

"Arcadia!" Griamore yelled out as he left Gilthunder's side to run to the girl. He practically pounced on her as he ran into her, very literally. She would have fallen over if it wasn't for Hendrickson. The man had his arm around the girl's waist, holding her up as she was still shaken up and injured despite his healing.

"Hey, Griamore." Arcadia allowed herself to just fall to her knees as she hugged the boy.

"Are you alright?" Hendrickson asked as he bent down to check on the girl. She, however, was now crying. "Arcadia?"

"I...I'm sorry..." He wasn't sure what Arcadia was sorry about exactly, but he knew he needed to comfort her anyway. So, both he and Griamore both hugged the sobbing girl. It seemed like her emotions had finally caught up with her.

"Arc, why are you crying?" Griamore questioned as the girl began to slowly calm down.

"I couldn't do anything but watch and I ended up losing... we ended up losing Meliodas because I wasn't strong enough."

"It wasn't your fault, Arcadia. It was clear that they were going to kill you as well. Why didn't they in the end though?" Gilthunder questioned next as he approached the girl. He was calmer now, but tears were still present in his eyes.

"I don't know, maybe Estarossa forgot... or maybe it was because of Fraudrin," Arcadia responded as she looked up at the man. She then smiled at both Hendrickson and Griamore, before standing up.

"He kissed you. We all saw it, and we heard what he said to you at the end. He wanted you to join him so it could be like the old days. Can you explain that? Plus, you called Meliodas your father and Estarossa your uncle."

"I'm sorry Gil, I can't tell you why I called them those names. It's a secret that I can't tell yet. However, I already admitted to being with Fraudrin and the demons before. I was on their side until 16 years ago."

"I see..." Gilthunder processed what the girl said and then opened his mouth to speak again, but was stopped by Howzer putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Gil now isn't the time to keep badgering her with questions."

"Thank you, Howzer." Arcadia smiled at the blond man and then looked down at the little boy. He was holding his arms up for her to pick him up, so she did. It hurt a little bit to hold him, but it made her feel better in a way. She then turned to Hendrickson and asked him a question. "So, now that we're in Liones, what are we going to do? You haven't been back here since..." She left it off, not wanting to get into it.

"I know and... I think it's best we leave for now."

"Leave?! How come?" Howzer demanded as he took a step forward.

"I agree. I think we need to go and fight some demons before things get too bad." Arcadia responded in place of Hendrickson. "Because things are going to get bad, very bad."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Hendrickson spoke, agreeing with the girl.

"But we... you just got back and she's hurt." Howzer was hesitant to speak and was a bit worried about the girl.

"I'll heal fast, and Hendrickson already mostly healed me completely. I just have fewer hearts than before..."

"Will you take Griamore with you? Shouldn't he stay-"

"NO! I'm going to stay with Arc and Hendy!" Griamore cut in angrily as he held onto the girl tightly. He was clearly going to be a bit more clingy now, due to her almost dying.

"It will be dangerous, but I refuse to allow anyone else to die. I won't let it happen... not again..." Arcadia held the boy tightly to her and then looked over at Hendrickson. She was worried for him and the boy in her arms, but she knew she would do anything to make sure they live.

"Can't you at least stay for the night? Rest up before you leave?" Howzer questioned as he looked at the girl. He seems to have grown attached to her as well.

"I don-"

"That sounds good." Hendrickson cut the girl off. She then looked back to him with confusion written on her face. "You need to rest before we travel anywhere. Griamore also needs his rest."

"...I understand..."

"Will you stay in your house?" Gilthunder questioned as he now got involved in the conversation.

"If it's alright."

"...Of course." Gilthunder was hesitant but was going to allow it.

"Thank you, Gilthunder." With that, Hendrickson placed a hand on Arcadia's back and began to lead her away from the little group. It wasn't that long of a walk, but eventually, they made it to Hendrickson's house. It was mostly in one piece and was beginning to get dusty.

"So, you lived alone?" Arcadia questioned just trying to get over the silence.

"I did."

"My house is close by too, but I don't want to go there without my father..." Griamore noted suddenly and sadly.

"It's alright, Griamore. You can rest assured, we'll save your father one day." Arcadia mumbled to comfort the little boy.

"I believe in you and Hendy."

"Good." Arcadia hugged the little boy tightly and then set him down on the floor. "So, I'm guessing you only have one bed here, right?"

"Yes," Hendrickson responded, not really sure where she was going with the conversation.

"Is... is it alright if we all sleep together again... I don't want to be alone right now..." That hit Hendrickson's heart hard and he nodded his head instantly. He didn't even have to think about it.

"Of course, Arcadia. I'll get Griamore ready for bed."

"Alright." Hendrickson led the two of them to where his bedroom was and allowed the girl to just stay in there by herself. He went off with Griamore to help the child with what he needed.

Meanwhile, Arcadia thought back on her day. She ignored the depressing part and thought back on how Fraudrin reacted to her. She'd never seen him so concerned for her well-being before. It was strange and concerning, but most of all, it brought back old feelings. She couldn't help but think about what they could have been, had he showed such a side to her before he killed her mother.

"Arcadia?" Hendrickson broke her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Griamore has decided that he wants to sleep on the couch tonight."

"Oh... alright. I guess that's fine." Hendrickson was now also in different clothing. He was wearing sleep clothes and had some in his arms for the girl.

"Here, you can change into these."

"Thank you, Hendy," Arcadia smirked at him as his face got dusted with pink from embarrassment. He wasn't used to hearing the name from his female friend. He turned away to walk out the door to give her privacy, but he paused.

"After you get changed, we need to talk."

"Of course..." With that, Hendrickson left and Arcadia changed into his clothing. It was embarrassing for her, but she tried hard to not think about it too much. Once she was changed, she went and found Hendrickson. He was in the living room with Griamore. He was tucking the child in. Once he was done with the child, he looked up at her. "Goodnight Griamore," Arcadia spoke to the little boy.

"Goodnight." He responded in a tired voice as he drifted off to sleep.

"Alright, let's talk in your room." Arcadia then turned around and walked back to where Hendrickson's bedroom was. She then awkwardly stood there and waited for the man to appear. It only took a few seconds for the man to enter the room. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"You called Meliodas your father and that demon your uncle."

"Oh... I guess I need to explain that to you, don't I? It's not like I'll lie to you, but you need to understand that you can't tell anyone else what I'll tell you."

"I understand." With that, the two sat down on Hendrickson's bed and began to talk. Well, Arcadia talked that is.

"So, Meliodas is my father, and Elizabeth, the original Elizabeth is my mother."

"Original Elizabeth?"

"She was originally a goddess. She and Meliodas have a curse on them and he is immortal and will wake up each time he dies while she will die and be reincarnated."

"Sir Meliodas will wake up, even this time?"

"Yes. Maybe a month from now, but he will be a little darker each time he gets reborn."

"Darker?"

"More demonic and evil. Soon, he will be consumed by his darkness." Arcadia frowned as she said that. She hated to think about how bad her father could become, considering she heard stories about how he was before she was born. "So, is that it?"

"Fraudrin... he kissed you..."

"Does that bother you? Because it bothered me."

"It did bother me. I don't like that he touched you like that."

"I see..." Arcadia was trying to not read too much into it. She didn't want to get her hopes up too much, so she just smiled at the man. "I definitely didn't want to experience that again, and I feel a little bad for your friend. I'm sure he didn't appreciate his body kissing someone without his permission."

"I'm sure Dreyfus was more worried about you."

"You think so? How about you tell me about him? I wanna know all about the man I'm going to help you save." Arcadia had a huge smile on her face, causing Hendrickson to smile back at her.

"Alright." Hendrickson simply responded before diving into it all.

Hendrickson told her all about how he met Dreyfus when he was a child and how the man practically raised him. He told her all about how great of a man Dreyfus is and how he sacrificed himself to save Hendrickson all those years ago at the crater and many other instances. The man told Arcadia all about how strong Dreyfus's will is and how unbreakable he seemed to be despite the irony of his power being 'break'.

It was nice to hear Hendrickson talk so enthusiastic about someone, and it showed in his tone and words that in his own way, he loved Dreyfus and that the brown-haired man is incredibly important to him. The girl sat there and listened for what felt like hours, just enjoying herself. She loved to hear Hendrickson speak and loved to hear the words coming out of his mouth. Which caused something to hit her. She was more than likely in love with the man, but she decided that tonight, was not the night to talk about it. That would be a conversation best left for after getting Dreyfus's body back.

Eventually, both adults began to feel tired and Arcadia couldn't help it, and she ended up yawning.

"We should get to sleep now. It's gotten late." Hendrickson commented as he watched the girl nod her head.

"I agree. I'm extremely tired." So, both of them got under the covers and laid down facing away from each other. Hendrickson was about to drift off to sleep when he heard Arcadia whisper to him. "Hey, Hendy..."

"What is it?" He turned around to see her now facing him. She had red dusting her face as if she was embarrassed about something.

"Can... can we... snuggle or something... I don't... I..."

"It's alright. Come here." Hendrickson lifted the covers and his arms, showing the girl it was alright to come closer to him. She instantly moved over and into his arms. She was a little surprised he was alright with it, but it just showed that he, too, cared about her.

Having Arcadia in his arms now, caused Hendrickson's heart to beat a little faster and he couldn't help but hope that she couldn't hear it. However, Arcadia was in the same position. Her heart was beating faster as well.

So, the next morning, Griamore found the two all cuddled up together and smiled at them. He then positioned himself in between the two and fell back asleep, much to the adult's confusion when they woke up later that day.

"When did Griamore get here?" Arcadia muttered as she detached herself from the child and Hendrickson.

"He must have seen us and wanted to join, then fell back to sleep," Hendrickson responded as he sat up and began to shake the boy. "Griamore, it's time to wake up. We need to get ready to leave."

"Al...alright..." The little boy mumbled as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. He clearly wanted to still sleep, but he also knew it was time to get up.

"Let's get ready, get something to eat, and then say our goodbyes before leaving," Arcadia explained as she climbed out of bed and stretched.

"Alright..." Griamore again mumbled. He, too, climbed out of bed and began his process of getting ready.

"Thank you for last night, Hendrickson. I slept better than I have in a long time."

"I did as well. I finally had no nightmares. Then again, when we shared a bed before, I had no nightmares that night either." Hendrickson responded as he got out of bed and began to go to his closet. He gathered his clothes and then left the room to get ready.  
"Did he say he's been having nightmares?" Arcadia asked the empty room. She could understand though. He met the Ten Commandments and went through hell before that. He must have many dark thoughts that spill over in his sleep.

So, now that she was left alone in the room, she changed back into her clothes, despite the shirt having two holes in it now. She made a mental note to buy a new one later in town.

Eventually, all three of them were ready to face the day but were also very hungry. Even so, their first stop was to a place for Arcadia to get a new shirt. The shirt she chose was another tank top. Exactly like the one she was already wearing. Griamore complained about not changing things up, but she didn't want to hear it. She liked what she liked and nothing would change her mind.

After she changed into her shirt the three of them went to grab a bite to eat. They then, coincidentally, met up with Howzer and Gilthunder there at the place they chose to eat at. The five of them chatted as they ate, but then things turned serious at the end.

"We must get going now." Arcadia declared as they all stood up from the table.

"Arcadia is correct. It's time for us to depart." Hendrickson confirmed as he looked over at the woman.

"You sure you can't stay here?" Howzer asked, one last time, hoping to get a different answer.

"I'm sorry, Howzer, but we will be back. Possibly in a month." Hendrickson responded simply.

"A month? Why that specific?" However, Hendrickson didn't answer. He just allowed Griamore to walk in front of him.

"Goodbye, Gil, Howzer," Griamore spoke as he looked up at his two friends.

"We'll see you later, Griamore," Howzer stated as he patted the child's head.

"Stay safe," Gilthunder spoke as he smiled down at the child. He was a little uneasy about letting Griamore go off with a former bad guy, and a girl he'd only met recently. However, the little boy was determined to stay with them so he couldn't do anything about it.

"I will!" Griamore than turned to Hendrickson and asked to be picked up.

"Tell the others we said goodbye," Arcadia muttered simply as the three of them turned around and began to walk away.

"Make sure you come back alive! All three of you!" Howzer yelled out as the three of them got further away.

"Goodbye!" Arcadia yelled back, as she waved at them.

With that, Hendrickson, Arcadia, and Griamore began a new and dangerous journey. They weren't sure where it would take them, or if they would all even come back alive, but they knew they had to do it. Hendrickson wanted to atone for all the sins he's committed, and Arcadia wanted to be by his side to help him along the way. The little boy just wanted to be near the two people he now viewed as his adoptive parents. The three of them were sure of one thing, they would do their part to save the world.


	8. A Month Later

Chapter 8 – A Month Later

For Hendrickson, Arcadia, and Griamore, the following month was full of dangerous situations. One town after another, the three of them went to and eradicated the demons plaguing the people. Even Griamore was helpful in the process. He made sure to keep the two adults safe as they killed off the demons.

With each demon they killed, the two adults got a little closer together. They worked so well together and were a great team, including Griamore. Their chemistry was great, and both of them could feel it. Even the little boy could tell that there was something growing between them.

That's what led them to where they were now. The group was stopped in the woods at night, away from any village. They hadn't come across a demon for a few days now and had no reason to stay in a village. They were actually now making the trek back to Liones. They were close, but not too close.

"Arcadia, do you want to learn more now?" Hendrickson questioned as he approached the girl who was poking at the fire. The two of them were working on her goddess powers every so often, and she could even heal a basic wound now. However, her ability to purge was going nowhere.

"Alright, I guess." Arcadia finally sighed out. She wasn't happy about her ability to purge, or the lack thereof ability.

"Let's try this again." Hendrickson held out a little bottle of poison and handed it to her. "Try to purify this with your ability to purge."

"I have no ability."

"You're a goddess, you can do this." Hendrickson wholeheartedly believed in the girl and her abilities.

"You can do it, Arc!" Griamore called out from his spot near the fire.

"I... alright, I'll try again." Arcadia wrapped her hands around the little bottle and thought hard about purging it of its poison. She thought hard about it, but nothing happened.

"Let's try something else." Hendrickson took the bottle, opened it up and drank it.

"Hendrickson!"

"Purge the poison now," Hendrickson stated as he just stared at the shocked girl. The girl swore many different words and placed her hands on Hendrickson's chest. She thought hard about purging the poison, but nothing worked. However, when she thought about saving his life, her hands began to glow and the poison within Hendrickson was purged away.

"I can't believe you did that!" Arcadia yelled out as she shoved Hendrickson backward. He caught her hands and smirked at her.

"I knew you could do it you just needed the right incentive."

"What if I couldn't do it?"

"Then I'd purge myself."

"You're an idiot." Arcadia tore her hands away from Hendrickson and stood up, pouting. She then turned away from the man and walked over to the little boy who was poking at the fire.

"Arcadia, I'm sorry. I just fully believed in you." Hendrickson commented simply as he followed the girl. He sat down right next to where he eventually sat down and looked over at her.

"I guess... thank you for believing in me..."

"I have always believed in you." Those words made Arcadia look over at the white-haired man. Her heart soared as she smiled at him and he returned it with a smirk of his own. It wasn't a full smile, but it was enough.

"Thank you, Hendy." He now no longer blushed every time she called him that. He'd grown used to it and now it gave him a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest.

"I'm tired," Griamore spoke, breaking their little moment. He got up and climbed into Arcadia's lap after he spoke. There, he instantly fell asleep.

"It's almost time for Meliodas to wake up. We should get back to Liones... I also have a bad feeling about what's going on there." Arcadia finally spoke after some time of silence. "Besides, I think Griamore is missing his two friends."

"I agree. He has seemed a bit down recently." Hendrickson responded as he looked at the sleeping boy.

"We should reach Liones tomorrow if we hurry and I think we need to hurry."

"Alright. Well, for now, let's go to sleep."

"Right." Arcadia then lifted the boy up and laid him down on the ground. She then covered him with a blanket they'd bought along the way and returned to Hendrickson's side. He was now also on the ground with a blanket of his own near Griamore. The two of them slept together each night, because not only do they sleep well, but they keep the bad dreams away from each other as well.

"Goodnight, Arcadia," Hendrickson mumbled to the girl as he began to drift to sleep.

"Night, Hendy," Arcadia muttered back as she snuggled closer to the man. He had his arms tightly wrapped around her as he pulled her closer on instinct.

The next morning, they woke up with Griamore between them, yet again. They usually woke up to the little boy being there. He didn't want to admit it but he enjoyed being there between two people because it reminded him of his parents.

After they woke up and got ready to go they made the walk to Liones. When they got there, they realized that there was a battle going on. They quickly made their way to where they could sense Fraudrin. As they got closer they could hear the voices from people inside of the castle.

"Get the hell down here, you bastard!" Someone yelled out angrily, presumably at Fraudrin.

"You're one of the demon clan's Ten Commandments! It's your time for your day of reckoning!"

"We, the Pleiades of the Azure Sky will make sure today is the final day you walk amongst the living... we swear our lives on it!"

"How dare you... do that to Sir Denzel!"

"Hmph... Insects,, you bark because you have no bite... know your place... None of you possess the ability or skill to stand toe-to-toe with me." Fraudrin spoke as he looked down on everyone.

"In that case, perhaps I should throw my hat into the fray..." Hendrickson spoke as he and Arcadia approached the situation with their swords out.

"You..." Dogedo spoke as he recognized Hendrickson.

"That body... belongs to my friend... my comrade." Hendrickson was ready to fight and Arcadia was right at his side. "And today will be the day that I take it back!"

"Hendrickson... You fool... After I was gracious enough to let you live. And Arcadia, my former lover, you are standing by that fool." Fraudrin muttered as he glared down at the two.

"We'd rather die than accept help from the likes of you, you scum!" Dogedo growled at the man.

"Dogedo, this is neither the time nor place for that!" One of the man's comrades snapped instantly.

"I will have vengeance for my friend! You will pay!"

"Once this fight is over, you may do with me what you wish. I shall not resist." Hendrickson spoke as he walked passed the yelling man with the girl right behind him. She glared at the other man for a moment before continuing to follow Hendrickson.

"Hendy, are you sure about that? You know I won't let anyone touch you, right?" Arcadia mumbled to the man, who only ignored her words this time. He was focused on the demon in front of him.

"Howzer, Slader... we should help evacuate his majesty and his aides!" Gilthunder stated as he spoke to his close friend.

"Yeah... Since our hands are tied we'd be nothing more than dead weight and a hindrance if we stayed here. Besides, there is still lots of attendants and maids running about the castle." Howzer responded as he looked back at his friend.

"Margret... I swear on my life that I will protect you!" Gilthunder then spoke as he turned to the princess.

"Gil..." The princess responded fondly. More of the people talked amongst themselves before finally noticing what was behind Fraudrin.  
"Wh...What the hell are those?!" Howzer exclaimed as he looked at Grayroad.

"Silence, ladies, and gentlemen. You are all about to bear witness to one of the world's greatest mysteries, the Grayroad show." Fraudrin spoke with a smirk on his face. "Her progeny has no distinction that would classify them as male or female... she is but an anomaly of a high-class demon born from the lesser classes... The rarest of rare species that has earned the right to be called a queen form. And just as her name implies, she is a creature without any magic... only capable of laying eggs... eggs from which her offspring will be born, and that offspring's sole purpose in life is to protect their queen." That seemed to put Hendrickson on edge. "Yes, that's right, Hendy. The same principle that once fueled your experiments to usher in the new era. Though if I were to point out any differences... Her eggs are beyond reproach... There are no failures among them and the demons that are born from her eggs will be the highest purity... None shall be tainted with any traces of their former host."

"We don't have a second to spare!" Arden yelled out as he shot down two people.

"No! Don't do that!" Arcadia yelled out a little too late.

"Oh dear..." Fraudrin muttered as he put his hand to his chin. "This is what happens when you act on impulse... if you had let me finish... you'd have learned that if the bodies inside the eggs are exposed to air once they reach a threshold temperature, they begin to grow and mature at an incredibly accelerated rate." The eggs fell to the ground and broke, causing the demons to be released. Fraudrin then smiled largely, sending chills through Arcadia.

"Dammit!" Arcadia swore as she ignored Fraudrin's next sentence. Instantly, Ban tried to help out and tried to get the bulb out of them, but failed.

"Fox's sin Ban, what you attempted just now... you were targeting the bulb, were you not? You're going to have to do a whole lot better than that if you want to destroy one of these egg-spawned demons."

"Out of the way, Mr. Hero! We ain't got time for your roundabout methods!" Dogedo yelled as he charged at the demons.

"Wait, stop!" Arcadia yelled out instantly. She and Deathpierce both yelled out at the man, but he ignored both of them. Dogedo slammed right through the demons, killing them instantly and immediately, he began to age and then die right in front of everyone.

"Wh...what's happening?!" Deldry demanded, horrified at the situation.

"I am the Ten Commandments' thou shalt not kill. Any and all who dare take another's life in my presence shall have all of their own time... their own life stolen from them." Grayroad spoke in her creepy ass voice.

"Now... the choice is yours, kill your former acquaintances that have been reborn as demon spawn and forfeit your life because of it... or stand idly by and be slaughtered by your former acquaintances that have been reborn as demon spawn..." Fraudrin actually began to chuckle as he spoke those words.

"If Meliodas were alive, you wouldn't stand a chance!" Gilthunder growled as he protectively stood in front of Margret. To that, Fraudrin began to full on laugh.

"If he were alive? Even if he were, his hands would be hopelessly as tied as yours!"

"Shut up Fraudrin! Don't forget, I'm here!" Arcadia yelled out instantly.

"Ah yes, my beautiful former lover. I was surprised to see you arrive with Hendy. I wonder, what is going on between you two..." He almost seemed bothered by that. The next thing anyone knew, Margret was yelling Gilthunder's name. "Well, well, I did not see that coming! Our mysterious magician was none other than this country's former royal magician who had long since been exiled!" He began to laugh again. "I must say, that was a wise decision nonetheless! While you stand there engaging in what is surely stimulating conversation, more and more eggs are hatching!"

Sure enough, the eggs fell from where they were and hit the ground. Thankfully though, Gustaf was able to freeze them instantly. However, that used all the strength he had left in him. He instantly passed out afterward.

"What's wrong? Passing out on me already?" Fraudrin smirked cockily. Thankfully though, as Gustaf's ice melted, it was replaced by another's and it also attacked Fraudrin. "What... What is this imposing magical power?!"

"You flatter me... it's simply some run-of-the-mill ice magic. But until I dispel it, it shall remain frozen for all eternity." Everyone looked up to see who was talking now. "I must apologize for my tardiness." Everyone was shocked to see Merlin floating there.

"This can't be... You should have been turned to stone by Galand's Commandment!"

"I was busy putting the finishing touches on a few experiments, but thanks to that, I've been able to achieve some rather satisfying results. Now then, Ten Commandments, it's time I made you my personal, little guinea pigs!"

"Lady Merlin!" Hendrickson happily called out, relieved to see the woman.

"This human... is very dangerous." Grayroad began to power up an attack that was aimed at Merlin, however, Howzer jumped in the way instead. Howzer instantly fell backward onto the ground.

"Howzer!" Hendrickson yelled out as he made his way to the fallen man.

"Wh.. what just happened to me? I can't see anything... I can't hear anything... everything's gone completely pitch black... I can't feel my fingers or my feet... Guess I'm about to meet my maker..."

"Lady Merlin, what is the meaning of this?!"

"It appears he's lost function of his five senses... fascinating," Merlin responded simply, which irritated Arcadia a little bit. Howzer went back to mumbling something while Merlin put her two fingers to her lips, whispered something and then put those two fingers to Howzer's head. He instantly shot up, colliding with Hendrickson's chin in the process.

"Are you alright, Hendy?" Arcadia asked as she crouched down next to him. He just had a look of almost disappointment on his face.

"I'm just fine." Hendrickson finally responded just as Merlin began to kill bugs that were coming at them. Surprisingly though, nothing happened to the female.

"Steal away all of someone's time, or in layman's terms, a person will have all their remaining years taken from them. While your commandment is indeed intriguing and impressive, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but... it will have no such effect on me."

"Merlin, then you're not human?!" Ban questioned, a little confused.

"Merlin is special..." Arcadia muttered mostly to herself, but Hendrickson heard. He was about to question when Merlin began talking again. She rambled on about experiments taking such a long time and what not. Arcadia stopped paying attention to her. Until the end.

"And then, just like that, it occurred to me. All I needed to do was simply stop my own time.

"Stop your own time?!" Howzer yelled out, shocked.

"Infinity, that is the magic power I possess. No matter how powerful a magic is, all I need to do is invoke it just once... and I can keep flames burning, ice frozen or time stopped, for eternity, as long as I, myself, do not release the spell." She then paused and looked around at everyone. "Everyone looks perplexed? If you've got something to say, now's the time to spit it out." No one spoke out loud, but everyone was thinking it. 'So unfair!' was the thought, while Arcadia just chuckled to herself. She already knew the truth about Merlin.

"Be that as it may! Never mind the fact that your magic power borders on cheating, it still doesn't explain how you were able to release yourself after being turned to stone by Galand!" Fraudrin yelled up at the floating woman.

"His was quite the remarkable commandment... It took me a considerable amount of time before I was able to return myself back to normal." Merlin simply responded to the man.

"These commandments are no mere ordinary magic spells... they are curses bequeathed to us by the Demon King himself! No matter how much time you have allotted yourself, no simple sorcerer could ever release themselves from one!" Grayroad yelled in multiple different voices that creeped Arcadia out a bit.

"In truth, even I panicked even if for just a moment... but I slowly and calmly regained my composure... and suddenly I remembered something. That I had been endowed with natural resistance to commandments, to begin with. So preposterous and outlandish really... it was so long ago... So much time has passed, in fact, that it seems everyone has all but forgotten my true identity." Merlin ranted on and then continued. "None other than Belialuin's daughter. As the Ten Commandments, I'm sure that name ought to ring a bell and resonate with you..." Instantly, Fraudrin and Grayroad freaked out.

"Lies! We're just to take your word that you're that survivor?! I... I refuse to believe it!" Fraudrin yelled out as he began to freak out a little bit more.

"My true name is..." Then Merlin spoke terrifying type noises that confused the hell out of all the humans and shocked the two demons.

"Then it's... it's true... there's no doubt about it!" Grayroad yelled out, horrified.

"Wh...what was that just now?!" Howzer yelled out to Merlin, just as freaked out as the demons.

"I apologize. It's not something a human can pronounce." Merlin then turned her attention to Grayroad. "Well then, I've grown bored of this conversation. Let us continue where we left off..." She then began to fly towards Grayroad, causing it to shriek in fear.

"This bodes poorly!" The Grayroad began to try to go in all different directions to get away from Merlin. "No, not that way you fool! We must split apart!" Grayroad then split apart in tiny gray demons and tried to escape in all different directions.

"Hold on now... I don't remember giving you permission to leave... I can't have my precious guinea pig escaping on me." Merlin then created a massive whirlwind that began to tear everything apart near it. Everyone ducked and covered trying to not get swept up in it. Hendrickson grabbed a hold of Arcadia and kept his grip tight on her as wind swept all around them.

"Escape is futile... we are getting sucked... back into the center..." All of the pieces of Grayroad were then sucked up and it all swirled down into a test tube that Merlin closed when everything was inside.

"I've gotten my hands on quite the scrumptious guinea pig," Merlin spoke as she fondly looked at the now-closed test tube. However, everyone else was in shock as the whole castle was now gone as well. The king himself was in the most shock, due to his home now being gone. No one really knew what to do for a few moments, so everyone remained mostly silent with shock at all that had just transpired.


	9. Return

Chapter 9 - Return

"I wish to hurry and get Grayroad back to my research facility as soon as possible... I can't wait to sink my teeth into this specimen." Merlin spoke fondly as she stared at the test tube in her hand. Suddenly, all attention was turned to Fraudrin, who'd been trying to sneak away. As soon as he realized he was seen, the demon darted away.

"He's making a break for it! After him!" Howzer yelled as multiple holy knights made moves to fun after the demon. However, he pointed his sword and attacked them, causing enough of a diversion for him to escape.

However, Arcadia grabbed a hold of Hendrickson and flew after the now flying demon. Once he landed, the two landed right after him, surprising the demon and irritating him.

"You two just don't know when to quit, do you..." Fraudrin questioned, annoyed now at Arcadia and Hendrickson.

"I shall repeat it once more... Today is the day I take Dreyfus back..." Hendrickson spoke with such determination that it caused a smile to appear on Arcadia's face.

"Hmph. Pushy and overbearing as ever. That's why you're still single. Though then again, I suppose you now have something with my former lover. I can't believe you'd willingly lie down with someone like that." Hendrickson just ignored the man and pointed his sword at him, calling forth his acid power.

"Did you forget? That magic power won't work on me, or Dreyfus." Sure enough, the acid did nothing, but that wasn't Hendrickson's goal. He used that as a distraction to get in close to the man. Once he was close, he put a hand on Fraudrin's chest.

"O' unnatural soul...begone!" Hendrickson then used purge, but it, unfortunately, did nothing at all. So Fraudrin brought down his sword nearly on Hendrickson's head if it wasn't for the white-haired man raising his sword at the last second. Even so, it sent the man flying and ricocheting backward, back to Arcadia who caught the man in her arms.

"Are you alright?" Arcadia asked, a little hesitant. Hendrickson just spits out blood and glared at Fraudrin.

"I'm fine." The white-haired man eventually spoke.

"You disappoint me, Hendy... Is that all you've got? Also, is Arcadia not going to get involved?" Fraudrin taunted before speaking again. "If she isn't you're going to die."

"That's rich coming from someone whose swordsmanship would make a squire blush!" Hendrickson taunted back, ignoring half of what Fraudrin said.

"You always knew how to push my buttons." Fraudrin then darted at Hendrickson hitting him head-on and causing him to fly backward. He then hit him down causing the man to hit the ground. "What's driving you to go so far? Is it the guilt of having your hands stained with the blood of so many innocents? Or is it some twisted attempt at finding redemption for a friend who's already committed countless sins? Either way, we've long passed the point on of return, Hendy. Dreyfus's hands... your hands... even Arcadia's hands, make no mistake about it, they are forever drenched in blood! And there is nothing any of you can do to atone or make amends for them!"

"That's not for you to decide... we ourselves must cross that bridge!"

"This is going nowhere, I'll make it... quick and painless!" As Hendrickson lies on the ground, Fraudrin went to stab him right in the head.

"Stop it!" Arcadia called out, making a move to stop the man, however, everything was stopped by a huge burst of lightning.

"Was that Gilthunder?! No... that magic just now..."

"There's no mistaking it... Zaratras?!" There was now a man standing right next to Hendrickson. Arcadia ignored that and flew over to Hendrickson. She put a hand on Hendrickson and began to heal him slightly as she remained silent and listened to the other man begin to speak.

"Allow me to fight alongside you one more time, Hendrickson," Zaratras spoke in a friendly and kind tone.

"This isn't real! I must be hallucinating... I was there... we killed you... with our own hands..." Hendrickson was going into shock now, but the man just grinned at him. The next thing anyone knew, Zaratras was pinching Hendrickson's cheek violently.

"This feel like dream to you? Now get your act together. Right now, saving Dreyfus is out foremost priority! Got it, Hendy!" Hendrickson allowed tears to escape his eyes as he looked up at the man he admired.

"Y...Yes, sir!"

"Good, now... who is this girl?" Zaratras then turned to Arcadia, who was still healing Hendrickson.

"My name is Arcadia, I'm a half-demon, half-goddess. It's nice to meet you."

"Oh? Are you close with Hendy?"

"Is now really the time?" Arcadia's face went completely red, along with some of Hendrickson's face.

"I'm just curious, are you his woman?" Zaratras had a teasing smirk on his face.

"It's... something like that," Hendrickson admitted, causing Arcadia to go even more red than before.

"Are you going to be helping us?"

"Of course. I'll do my best to do whatever I can to help!" Arcadia smiled at the man as she raised her sword proudly.

"Right then," Zaratras smiled at the two. "Let's move out!"

"Yes, sir!" Both Hendrickson and Arcadia yelled out as the man stood back up to his feet.

All three of them began to attack Fraudrin, however, the demon was able to fend off every attack. He got a little injured due to a few of Zaratras's attacks, but nothing Arcadia and Hendrickson were doing was affecting the demon.

"I'd expect nothing less from the former Captain of the Holy Knights... but can you three bring yourself to murder Dreyfus in cold blood?!" He did a particular powerful swipe with his sword, causing all three to go backward.

"If only he left himself open long enough, we might be able to settle things with 'purge'," Zaratras spoke as he caught his breath.

"I had the same train of thought, but it was as I feared, 'purge' isn't sufficient enough to eradicate one of the Ten Commandments' soul," Hendrickson responded simply.

"What about her, she's a goddess."

"I only recently learned how to purge... from Hendrickson and I don't think I'm strong enough to do it."

"I see... so even our 'purge' is ineffective against the Ten Commandments. In that case, we have no method left but to exterminate his life..."

"Wait a second... you mean kill Dreyfus?! If we do that then everything will be for naught! I'm completely against this!" Hendrickson yelled out as he turned to look at Zaratras.

"Do not take your eyes off of him!" Fraudrin had darted at Hendrickson as soon as his eyes were off of the man. Thankfully though, Zaratras grabbed the man and used his power to get away from there fast as Arcadia flew up instantly. She eventually made her way over to where the two men were now.

"It's not often the Captain of the Holy Knights is hesitant and unsure of himself... without any way left to save your brother, is your solution to simply run around in circles? Stuck between a rock and a hard place, are we?" Fraudrin taunted before continuing. "Fear not... I'll be deciding how best to turn you both into a delicious meal, then I shall take back my woman." As he spoke, something red fell from where he'd just collided with when he attacked. It was Hawk transformed. However, he didn't realize that and lifted it up. "What is this?"

"That's...!" Zaratras seemed to recognize hawk.

"A pig?" Hawk then breathed out forcefully through his nose, causing a cloud to come out, right into Fraudrin's face. He instantly threw the pig away forcefully and put a hand over his eyes. "This smell... it's... rotting leftovers?! My eyes!" Fraudrin was clearly in pain and was now distracted. So, Zaratras made his move.

"It appears your luck has finally run out." Zaratras quickly moved behind Fraudrin and grabbed a hold of him., surprising the demon.

"What nonsense are you trying to pull? Must I state the obvious... you'll barely manage to put a scratch on me with your level of magic!"

"Indeed. I'm already well aware of that fact... but if I were to, say, pour every last ounce of my life energy into a 'purge', that should at the very least be enough to drag you out of my little brother's body!"

"No!" Hendrickson yelled as he reached out towards the pair. However, it was too late. A bright light shined out as Zaratras did exactly what he said he would do. So, suddenly now facing Hendrickson and Arcadia was the true form of Fraudrin, and Zaratras and Dreyfus were falling backward onto the ground.

"Curse you!" Fraudrin yelled out as he realized what had happened to him.

"Dreyfus! Zaratras!" Hendrickson yelled loudly as he saw his two friends laying unconscious on the ground.

"You'd just received your precious, insignificant life back and willingly chose to throw it away for the sake of another! A fool to the very end! So what if you traded your life to pull me out into the open... all I have to do is simply hop back into Dreyfus at my leisure."

"I won't give you the chance!" Hendrickson darted forwards to attack the giant monster but was stabbed through the shoulder instead.

"Hendrickson!" Arcadia yelled out, horrified at seeing the man hurt.

"Do you really wish to throw your life away in vain, Hendrickson?" Hendrickson's only response to Fraudrin was to yell out in pain before collecting himself.

"If you're going... to possess someone... then possess me!"

"I have no need for a human with a weak, meager body like yours. And besides, Dreyfus and I have been good partners for the past 10 years..."

"Is that... how you truly feel?"

"What?!"

"In order to exact your revenge against Meliodas after defeat by his hands, you chose Dreyfus's body to hide within while you reaccumulated power enough to take him on, isn't that right?" Hendrickson questioned with a pained smirk on his face. "In which case you have long since had ample time to get more than enough of your power back... Furthermore, Sir Meliodas, who you sought retribution against... has already died! So you shouldn't have any need to attach yourself to Dreyfus's body anymore!" Hendrickson finished out his rant yelling. Fraudrin just looked shocked at the man. Suddenly, another voice was heard.

"Fa..ther?" It was Griamore. "Father!"

"Gria...more?" Fraudrin responded, shocked at seeing the little boy. However, before anyone could do anything else, a blast of power was sent through Fraudrin's chest. The strike caused Hendrickson to fall from the demon, resulting in Arcadia catching him, but falling to the ground from the force.

"What?!"

"Don't you dare... utter his name..."

"How is this... How could a mere human's magic possibly inflict this kind of damage on me?!"

"My faith is honed and unwavering. It is firm. It is tempered. There is nothing it cannot pierce! Your downfall will be underestimating we humans so much!" Dreyfus then used a much more powerful attack that seemingly blew away Fraudrin. Using so much magical power causing Dreyfus to be left panting for breath.

"Father!" Griamore yelled at he ran to the man.

"Griamore!" Dreyfus took his son into his arms happily.

"It's you! It's really you... my dad!"

"To think the day would finally come that I could embrace you once more." Dreyfus then realized how small the boy was. "Hmm? Griamore, why do you have such a youthful appearance?"

"Quite a bit happened during our training in the Village of the Druids, you see. I shall explain everything to you at length later." Hendrickson muttered as he approached his friend, as tears began to fill his eyes. "Welcome home, Dreyfus."

"Hendrickson!" The two men hugged, as Arcadia felt a few happy tears slip from her eyes as the Hendrickson began to fully cry now. "I have caused you much worry up until now."

"That goes for both of us, doesn't it?"

"As I thought, Dreyfus... so strong..." Zaratras then laughed a little bit. "I should have named you my successor far sooner..."

"Elder brother! Please stay with us!" Dreyfus went to his brother instantly.

"It seems this is it for me... I don't have even an ounce of power left in my body..."

"Griamore, were you not together with Jericho and company?" Hendrickson questioned the little boy as he put a hand over his shoulder.

"Well, um, I went to take a whiz and when I came back, everyone was gone." The little boy responded simply.

"Hendy, are you alright?" Arcadia asked as she made her way over to the injured man. He just smiled softly back at her as he allowed her to fuss over his shoulder wound.

"Elder brother... you're always overexerting yourself so!" Dreyfus spoke to Zaratras as he held him.

"Not to worry, I was gifted this second life... for the sole purpose of saving you all."

"If only I was stronger, I never would have killed you with my own two hands, my brother. I never would have caused pain and suffering to countless innocents..."

"Your anger is misplaced... I am entirely the one to blame." Hendrickson spoke as he crouched down next to Zaratras. "Because I was so weak and powerless, you were forced to do that fiend's bidding..." Zaratras smiled softly before ramming his head into his brother's face and flicking Hendrickson's nose painfully.

"B...Brother?"

"How can I even begin to ascent to heaven with the two of you in such low spirits? Honestly. Rather than simply mourn and pass blame, you must live on, come to terms with and accept everything you've done. That is... how an adult takes responsibility, is it not?" Zaratras began to glow and fade away now. "And one last thing, there is one message you must pass on, tell Gilthunder... I am always watching... over...him..." With those words, Zaratras faded away. Tears were streaming from Arcadia's eyes as she watched the moment. Hendrickson was in the same boat.

"...We must convey my dear brother's final words to Gilthunder, at all costs." Dreyfus muttered instantly.

"Pray rest peacefully..." Hendrickson spoke as tears fell from his eyes.

"That promise shall never be fulfilled..."

"Th... that voice... Fraudrin?!" Dreyfus instantly stood up with Hendrickson at his side.

"Im...Impossible... he was completely erased by your attack..." Hendrickson was just as confused as Dreyfus was. Meanwhile, Griamore was holding onto Arcadia's legs fearfully. The little boy was nervous, especially when Fraudrin began to laugh.

"Such exaggeration. I'd say I was merely pierced by it. I'd expect nothing less of my partner in crime. Certainly, as I once was, I would have been in quite a bit of mortal danger. If the two of you could see the expressions on your faces. Now... plunge to your deaths with your faces painted in despair. What do you think...? this is my original magic power... Full Size!" After Fraudrin spoke, he reached down to smash Hendrickson, Dreyfus, Griamore, and Arcadia. Dreyfus grabbed Griamore and got out of there, while Arcadia wrapped her wings around herself and Hendrickson. However, those two were protected by Merlin's perfect cube.

"What the?! What the hell is that monstrosity?!" Howzer yelled out in disbelief and horror.

"That is the true identity of the demon who once possessed Dreyfus," Merlin spoke next, clarifying that with everyone.

"Dreyfus! Griamore!" Hendrickson yelled out as Arcadia unwrapped and hid her wings.

"Fear not! We are unharmed!" Dreyfus yelled back as he sat against a rock with Griamore in his arms.

"So that means... he's back to the great holy knight we used to know?!" Howzer practically yelled at Hendrickson.

"Indeed," Hendrickson responded, turning to face Howzer.

"You serious? Hell yeah!"

"I'll crush you all beneath my feet in one fell swoop!" Fraudrin growled but was cut off when he was hit right in the face by something. Then he was hit again and again, until finally, Meliodas rested right on his arm. "What?! How can this be?! Meliodas?! You traitorous bastard... Why do you still live?!"

"No...way..." Howzer muttered in disbelief.

"Pinch me... I must be dreaming?" Slader mumbled next, just as shocked as Howzer.

"Sir Meliodas! You're alive!" Dreyfus yelled out, excited.

"So he's finally returned... I expected as much." Merlin muttered, clearly knowing about the situation with Meliodas.

"Cap'n..." Ban sang happily as he watched his best friend.

Meliodas then resumed his attack on Fraudrin. He was brutal and violent, nothing like he'd been before. There was nothing Fraudrin could do, he couldn't even hope to touch the short man. Meliodas even used his clones against him to fight first.

"Cl...Clone?" Howzer questioned, surprised by the situation.

"Real-life clones... that is the special ability granted by the sacred treasure Lostvayne. Therefore, the captain's current true power level is... 60,000."

"Hey, you look like something's on your mind? Cat got your tongue, Fraudrin? Completely crushing any hope you felt and turning that into despair... then savoring the utter despondence written all over your face... There really is no better feeling." Meliodas spoke with such emotion, it sent a chill through Arcadia.

"Sir... Meliodas...?" Hendrickson hesitantly questioned, before looking over to Arcadia for answers.

"No... Can that truly be... Sir Meliodas?" Dreyfus questioned next, becoming a bit horrified at the look on the shorter man's face.

"STOP IT, MELIODAS!" Arcadia yelled out to her father. "Merlin, get me out of here, right now!"

"What? Why?" Merlin questioned, a bit thrown off for once.

"He isn't in his right mind, I need to stop him!" Arcadia was close to tears, leaving the sorceress no other choice.

"Very well."

"I'm sorry Hendrickson, I really might die this time..." Arcadia mumbled as she was dropped from the perfect cube. Hendrickson instantly tried to reach for her as he called out her name, but the cube closed up as soon as she was through it. Arcadia wasn't sure what she could do, but she knew that she needed to stop Meliodas as soon as possible. Preferably before he brutally killed Fraudrin. Arcadia didn't think she could watch her first love be killed, without at least trying to stop it.


	10. Death

Chapter 10 – Death

Before Arcadia could reach Meliodas, he'd already poked holes through Fraudrin, much to the shock of everyone there. Fraudrin then shrunk and then fell to the ground. Arcadia instantly put herself in between Meliodas and Fraudrin.

"Enough! I won't let you do this!" Arcadia growled, pointing her sword at Meliodas. He slowly turned around to face her.

"Oh? You really think you, of all people, can stop me?" Meliodas threatened as he glared at his child.

"What are you going to do? Kill your only daughter?"

"Arc... Don't do this..." Fraudrin didn't want the girl to get hurt again, but before anyone could say anything else, Meliodas stabbed Arcadia, right in one of her hearts. She coughed up blood but just smiled at the man.

"You think I won't? You got with a demon, one I told you to not get with. You defied me."

"Damn right I did. I guess I take after you, considering how you defied your father." Meliodas couldn't help but chuckle at that. Even so, he then smacked Arcadia sending her flying to the side.

"Arcadia!" Fraudrin choked out as he watched his former lover crash into a wall. The demon then stood up in fury. "Zaratras was kind enough to provide me... an inspiration of sorts. So don't expect me to roll over and die quietly. Nor will I watch you kill Arcadia over me!"

"Forcefully drawing out all of this energy at once to self-destruct..." Merlin mused as she watched the demon. Hendrickson and Howzer snapped their heads to her and repeated her last word. "There's no need to fret... It won't be able to penetrate my 'perfect cube'."

"Th...That's not what I'm worried about!" Howzer yelled out, horrified.

"Of course, it won't be enough to destroy the captain either. It might kill Arcadia though, I'm not sure."

"How much longer will you be able to keep up that smug smile I wonder. After all, even if you somehow manage to survive this... I'll certainly be able to wipe Liones off the face of the map, and thanks to you, every last human in this pathetic kingdom will perish! Now then... How about you count down together with me... For the grand finale! 10!"

"If you wanna kick the bucket, then hurry up and just do it. You're putting me to sleep over here..."

"Dreyfus! Griamore! Arcadia!" Hendrickson yelled out, terrified for his friends.

"Dreyfus... prepare yourself... I'll be bringing you along with me to the other world... Unfortunately, your son will be joining us as well." Fraudrin stated, sounding slightly sad about the child.

"It's okay Griamore, your father will be right here with you... until the very end!" Griamore was crying now, but he still shoved out of his father's arms.

"NO!"

"Griamore!" The little boy grabbed a hold of Fraudrin and put up a wall around them in the form of a ball.

"What?!" Fraudrin yelled out, horrified at the child's actions.

"Don't kill daddy! Don't kill everyone!" Griamore cried out. Arcadia was there in an instant next to Dreyfus.

"Griamore put down this wall, now!" The girl yelled out as Dreyfus yelled out as well.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Dreyfus began to bang on the wall, trying to break it as Arcadia kept yelling at the boy. "No! I order you to stop! Release your magic this instant, Griamore!"

"Let me go! Dispel your magic now, Griamore!" Fraudrin yelled out at the child. The little bot just shook his head as tears flowed from his eyes. "Please, be a good boy!" Griamore just shook his head again. As Dreyfus kept screaming loudly. "So be it. I will not kill your father... or anyone else for that matter."

"Do you... promise?"

"Yes... You have my word, so take down this barrier, and return to your father's side." Griamore wiped his eyes and released his barrier. He then instantly returned to his father and threw himself into Dreyfus's arms. "Apparently, the one caught up in silly sweet dreams... was me... That's the thing... I never wished to understand or comprehend it... Kill me."

"No!" Both Griamore and Arcadia yelled at the same time. She instantly moved between the two demons and put her arms up protectively. "Don't you dare touch Fraudrin!"

"Get out of the way, Arcadia," Meliodas spoke with a smile on his face. He was all too ready to kill Fraudrin.

"I won't!" Tears were now streaming down Arcadia's face. "Please father... Don't take him from me..."

"Don't be ridiculous, you have Hendrickson now. Would you really risk your life to save this demon?"

"If you're going to kill him, kill me first."

"Arc!" Griamore cried out, as tears began to flow from his eyes.

"Very well. I will do as you ask." Meliodas lifted his sword to kill Arcadia, while both Griamore and Hendrickson yelled out her name in fear. Just as his sword was coming down, Fraudrin wrapped his hand around her protectively.

"I won't let you take her from this world." The giant demon spoke as he took the damage Arcadia would have taken. "Here, Dreyfus take the girl." Fraudrin had picked up Arcadia and literally tossed her to the other man. With Griamore on one side, Dreyfus caught the girl and held her tightly as she struggled against him.

"Let me go!"

"I cannot."

"Please father! Don't kill him!"

"I truly did love you, Arcadia..." With those final words from the large demon, Meliodas punched Fraudrin so hard, half his body was blown away, killing him instantly, much to the horror of everyone.

"No!" Arcadia screamed out as tears began to flow from her eyes. Pain shot through her as it felt like a small piece of her, just died along with Fraudrin. "He didn't deserve to die like that Meliodas!" Even Griamore was now crying with the girl. He left his father's arms and snuggled up against the girl, holding onto her as he cried over the demons death.

"What is going on?" Dreyfus questioned, a little concerned over the two crying people in his arms. He stood up, allowing Arcadia to stand on her own, but she collapsed to the ground, with Griamore still in her arms.

"Arcadia!" Hendrickson was at her side as soon as Merlin released her perfect cube. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around the girl and the little boy, allowing her to lean against him and cling onto him.

It took some time, but eventually, Arcadia stopped crying. She just sadly looked up at Hendrickson.

"You almost didn't make it back to me this time." The white-haired man pointed out sadly.

"I'm so sorry. I had to try to save him, even if it meant dying. I know I shouldn't have because of what he's done to you and everyone else, but I... I loved him once and I just..." She trailed off as tears began to fill her eyes.

"I understand," Hendrickson spoke softly. It hurt his heart to watch the girl crying like that, especially over another man.

"Hendrickson, Dreyfus..." It was the king of Liones, Bartra who'd approached the five of them.

"Yes, sire?" Dreyfus responded, a little confused and hesitant.

"Come to the funeral we're having tonight."

"Of course, we'll be there."

"You girl, Arcadia, I believe? Come as well."

"...Of course..." Arcadia spoke as she sniffled and fought back more tears. "Griamore, I think there's someone who wants to be with you right now."

"Huh?" The little boy looked up to see one of the princesses approaching them. It was Veronica.

"Hi, Griamore. Want to come with me?" She questioned softly as she reached out for the boy. Instantly, the little boy was out of Arcadia's arms and in Veronica's. The two quickly left the adults to themselves.

"Are you alright now?" Hendrickson questioned the now calm girl in his arms.

"I will be." Hendrickson then put his forehead against the girl's.

"Good... Don't ever do that again... I thought I was about... I thought you were going to die..." Hendrickson had his own tears filling his eyes now.

"I'm so sorry, Hendy. I promise I won't do that again!" The girl hugged the man tightly, and he wrapped his arms around her back in return. Dreyfus just smiled over the two and put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Come, we shouldn't stay here. It's getting late, the funeral will be at dusk." Dreyfus spoke, interrupting their moment.

"You're right." Arcadia then detached herself from Hendrickson and stood up. "Oh, I think I owe you an apology..."

"Why?"

"Well, Fraudrin, he used your body to kiss me. I'm sure you didn't appreciate that."

"It's alright, I was more concerned with you."

"Ha, that's exactly what Hendrickson said you'd say." Arcadia couldn't help but chuckle at that. Hendrickson was now standing as well by her side.

"Let's get cleaned up before we meet with the others." Suddenly, a shock went through Arcadia.

"Oh my god, your shoulder! I forgot! Let me try to heal you!" Arcadia instantly swung around and put her hands over Hendrickson's shoulder. Dreyfus couldn't help but chuckle at the panic the girl showed towards Hendrickson. His chuckle caused both, Hendrickson and Arcadia to look over at him.

"What's so funny, Dreyfus?"

"She shows much panic over you. She must care about you a lot." Dreyfus's words caused Arcadia to blush.

"Yeah, well... I do care about him a lot." Arcadia admitted surprisingly. She was still trying to heal the wounded man, but it wasn't working well.

"Here, let me help." Hendrickson put his hand over the girl's hand and began to heal himself with her help.

"So... Hendy, do you care about her as well?" Dreyfus was now intensely curious. His friend had never shown true interest in a woman before, so he wanted to know all about it.

"We can talk about this further, later," Hendrickson spoke, putting an end to that conversation.

Eventually, with Arcadia's help, Hendrickson's shoulder got to be fully healed. After he was fine, Hendrickson, Dreyfus, and Arcadia all made their way to where the funeral was being held. By now, it was dark and raining.

"This is where the souls of the four noble holy knights shall be laid to rest. From the depths of my heart, I offer blessings for these brave men who sacrificed their lives for their kingdom and its people." The little priest spoke over the graves.

"Marmas... You left us far too soon..." Howzer mumbled as others were fully sobbing over their lost friends.

"Denzel... Why didn't you say something to us? Why didn't you let us know?!" Deldry cried out as she clings to Deathpierce.

"Dogedo... may you find peace with your fellow comrades..." Waillo muttered as he also cried a few tears for his fallen friend.

"I don't... I don't understand why my brother had to die..." Jericho mumbled in shock. "Was it... to protect me? How are you going to protect me now that you're dead?! You could've at least given me the chance to say a proper goodbye...We were... just always... at each other's throats..." Jericho then burst out into tears as she clung to Ban. Suddenly, a rock was thrown and hit Hendrickson right above one of his eyes.

"Why the fuck are you still alive?! Getting possessed by a demon and letting it run roughshod all over the place sure worked out well for you, huh!" Deldry screamed out after she threw the rock at Hendrickson. Arcadia gasped and just watched, shocked at the scene unfolded around her. "You still get to live and breathe while Denzel and all the others died horrible deaths!" Deldry then grabbed another rock and threw it at Dreyfus. "You con of a bitch!" Howzer instantly then stood in front of the two men.

"That's enough! It's not like he asked to be possessed!" Howzer yelled out protectively.

"Move it!"

"It's fine Howzer," Dreyfus spoke as a rock hit Howzer in the head.

"No, it really isn't... Ow!" Howzer responded in pain.

"Everyone, please... if you could somehow find it in your hearts... I, as king... with to see off the brave souls of those who have died with at least a moment of silence." Bartra spoke gently, trying to soothe the situation. "What I wish for the most, is everyone's assistance in returning the morale and livelihood of this once bustling kingdom that has been ravaged and destroyed by the demons. In order to accomplish this in a timely manner, all of our hearts must be one and we cannot stand divided!" The king's words caused Hendrickson and Dreyfus to look at each other.

After the funeral, Dreyfus offered to have the two stay at his home, while Griamore stayed with the princess. The brown-haired man had a lot of questions for his friend and the girl. However, their talk first started with Hendrickson explaining how Griamore ended up a child once again.

"I see. Well, tomorrow we should talk to Lady Merlin about how to turn him back to normal." Dreyfus spoke once Hendrickson was done with his story. "Now, explain this." He waved his hand between Arcadia and Hendrickson. That caused Arcadia's face to instantly go red.

"Well, to start, you know about who and what I am, correct?" Arcadia began hesitantly.

"I believe I know more about you than you'd want me to. Fraudrin shared some... information about you while I was possessed by him." Dreyfus's face had a slight blush, causing the girl to full-on panic and freak out.

"What the fuck did he tell or show you from his memories?! Wait don't answer that please..." Arcadia then took a deep breath and regained her composure. "Anyway... in Istar, I met Hendrickson and that's where everything started. Griamore chose him and me to be his temporary parents and we grew closer due to him. Now... I care about Hendy deeply and would do anything to keep him safe."

"And you, how do you feel about her?"

"I would give my life to keep her safe."

"So... you two... are in love then, correct?" Dreyfus added everything up and gave it a name. Both of the other adults looked over at each other and instantly blushed. Arcadia had already realized her feelings for him, but Hendrickson hadn't put a name to his for her quite yet. However, the word love seemed to resonate with him.

"I've never been in love before... but I always imagined it would feel like this..." Hendrickson finally admitted after a few moments of silent thought.

"And you, Arcadia?"

"I haven't felt this strongly for someone before, and it's slightly scary, but yes, I'd say it's love..." Arcadia admitted with a smile on her face as she looked over at Hendrickson.

"I'm glad for you, Hendrickson," Dreyfus spoke as he strongly patted the white-haired man on his back.

"Thank you, Dreyfus."

"Well, it's about time we go to sleep, right? I'll stay on the couch and Arcadia can take my bed." Both Arcadia and Hendrickson just looked at each other, not wanting to be the one who explained their sleeping arrangements, but eventually, Arcadia spoke up.

"Actually, Hendrickson and I stay together. We sleep better next to each other and it keeps the nightmares away." Arcadia explained with a slight blush on her face.

"Oh... I see." Dreyfus wasn't sure how to respond to that. He never expected Hendrickson would sleep with a woman so easily. Even if nothing inappropriate went on. "Well, you two take my bed, I'll sleep in Griamore's."

"Alright. Thank you." With that, the three adults went to different rooms and began to get ready for bed. The men had to take off all their armor and Arcadia just took her cloak off. Once they were all ready, they all climbed into their own beds and Dreyfus slipped off to sleep. The other two remained awake for a few minutes to chat with each other. "So... Hendy?"

"Yes?" Hendrickson looked down at the girl in his arms hesitantly.

"Are we... a thing now?"

"I would say so."

"Good..." Arcadia then surprised the man, be sitting up a bit to kiss him on the side of his face. "Goodnight then." The then lied back down and snuggled into Hendrickson's arms. She fell asleep almost instantly, while Hendrickson just remained awake in shock. He'd never been kissed by a woman before, even if it was just on the cheek. He wasn't sure how to react, so he remained still, and eventually sleep overtook him and he joined Arcadia in dreamland.


	11. Back to Normal

Chapter 11 – Back to Normal

The following morning, Arcadia woke up like usual; in Hendrickson's arms. It was nice but this time it felt different. They were together now and their feelings were out in the open. There were so many things she wanted to do with the man now, but she knew she needed to keep most of it toned down for now. She didn't want to scare the man off since this was his first relationship.

Suddenly, a knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. Slowly the door opened as she sat up. It was Dreyfus who'd opened the door and was a bit startled to see Arcadia sitting up in bed.

"We've been summoned to the castle for a meeting with all of the holy knights. Wake Hendrickson up." Dreyfus spoke quietly as to not wake the man, even though he needed to be woken up anyway.

"Alright. Thank you... Wait, even me?" Arcadia questioned, a little confused. It wasn't like she was a holy knight or anything.

"King Bartra has decided you will be a useful member of our kingdom, even if you aren't a holy knight or technically a part of our kingdom."

"I see. Well alright then." With that, Dreyfus left the room, leaving the girl to wake up the sleeping druid. "Hendy, it's time to wake up." She shook the man, but he didn't stir at all. He seemed to be in a deep sleep. "Hendy!" The girl then nearly shoved him off of the bed, waking him up instantly with a start.

"What is it?"

"It's time to get up. We have places to go and stuff to do."

"Alright..." Hendrickson clearly wasn't fully awake, so Arcadia leaned down to him and kissed him, right on the lips. Instantly, his eyes shot open and he had shock written on his face.

"Now, wake up, sleeping beauty." Arcadia chuckled to herself and then got out of the bed. She threw her cloak back on and fled from the room before her embarrassment could catch up with her. She met with Dreyfus in the main room and he chose to not question why her face was totally red. Eventually, Hendrickson came wandering out into the main room as well, it just took a few minutes. Dreyfus then explained the same thing he told the girl, and the three of them headed off to where they were supposed to meet up with everyone else.

"Thanks to the earnest efforts of the Seven Deadly Sins, the immediate threat of the Ten Commandments had been neutralized... However... we are all well aware that this does not mean that the Ten Commandments or the demon clan has been defeated! This long arduous battle still lies ahead of us... That is why you commanders of the holy knights are absolutely essential." The King was giving a speech to all of the knights there. "I know this may seem a bit sudden... But I would like to take this moment and appoint a new captain of the holy knights."

"Alright, you two! At last! It's an official coronation!" Howzer yelled as he approached Dreyfus and Hendrickson.

"Wh... what are you going on about?" Hendrickson questioned as he looked over at the man.

"Don't play coy with me! If anyone has a problem with it, I'll smack 'em right upside their head and fling 'em to the side for good measure."

"We appreciate the sentiment, Howzer."

"But we have neither the qualification nor the intent to be captain," Dreyfus spoke, finishing Hendrickson's thought.

"I hereby appoint as the new captain of the holy knights... Howzer!" The king spoke, shocking many people, especially Howzer.

"M...Me?! B...But I'm just a commoner... I've no noble blood... and well, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed..."

"Your point being?"

"B..But..."

"During the recent events that transpired, in the midst of a despair-laden battle, you kept your cool and calmly assessed the situation around you. You were a source of inspiration to your friends and allies and did all you could to ensure my protection and safety while shielding me from harm's way. I believe all of those things are the very embodiment of exactly what a captain of the holy knights should strive to be." The king ranted on before continuing. "I do admit, you are still quite wet behind the ears... Therefore, for the time being, we shall have you as the substitute acting captain."

"You'd better keep your head on a swivel or you'll get gobbled up, new captain of the holy knights, sir." Slader threatened, hopefully jokingly.

"You don't seem all too reliable, but please give it your all, acting captain of the holy knights, sir," Guila spoke up next, teasingly.

"You're the man, Howzer!" Someone else yelled out loudly. Followed by, "You should start with that hideous hair-do!"

"HOW DOES MY HAIR FACTOR INTO ANY OF THIS?!" Howzer screamed back at the group of holy knights.

"Well, your answer?" The king finally questioned, stopping any more chatter.

"I swear I shall give every last ounce of my strength and energy... to ensure I fulfill every expectation you have of me!" After that, everyone began cheering on the "substitute" and it caused Howzer to again yell at everyone.

"I'm happy for Howzer. Aren't you two?" Arcadia suddenly asked during all the cheering.

"We are," Dreyfus answered for both of them. "He deserves it."

"I agree." Hendrickson nodded his head as he spoke.

"Well, now let's go to Lady Merlin to find out how to get Griamore back to normal."

"Can we grab something to eat along the way? I'm a little hungry now..." Arcadia spoke as she tried to ignore the fact that her stomach began to growl. The two men paused and nodded their heads. They realized they, too, were hungry.

After the three of them ate, they headed to where Merlin was. Once in there, they didn't even need to explain why they were there.

"You're here because of Griamore, correct?"

"Yes." Dreyfus simply responded.

"Born from chaos and disorder... the ancient revenant Aonan. It reaches into the depths of the psyche of an individual and transforms themselves into that which that person fears most. In that vain, it can also function as a kind of prank or joke magic as well... For instance, against someone with a phobia of caterpillars, it would turn them into a caterpillar... Against someone fearful of old age, they would turn into an elderly person..." Merlin ranted on and on about the being.

"So then... that monster is what Griamore came face to face within the Druid's cave of trials?" Dreyfus questioned piecing together what Merlin had said.

"And the thing Sir Griamore despised above all else, was the younger version of himself. He, who was weak and powerless... Just taking one quick glance at the muscle mass he built up from training makes it painfully clear."

"Dreyfus..." Hendrickson hesitantly muttered as he looked over at his friend.

"Please... You've got to dispel the magic that's been cast on my son!"

"I've got other more pressing matters that I need to attend to right now."

"B...But I beg of you! You must!"

"Merlin!" Arcadia scolded harshly causing the woman to turn around.

"Let me finish! There is a quick way to dispel it."

"Huh?" All three of the other adults questioned in unison.

"A kiss from someone he loves will do the trick..."

"He's with that princess now. He seemed quite attached to her." Arcadia commented simply, to which Merlin just nodded her head.

"He is very attached to her. I believe Griamore will be just fine." Hendrickson spoke towards Dreyfus.

"Yes... Yes, you're right." Dreyfus nodded his head and then left Merlin's little place. Hendrickson and Arcadia followed the man and allowed him to guide them back to his place. At his home, there was a messenger looking for them. He explained that the king wanted to see the three of them. So to the castle, they went.

"What did you need, sire?" Dreyfus questioned once they were in front of the king.

"I would like the three of you to join my daughter, Margret, on her journey. She plans on leaving the kingdom to search for Gilthunder."

"Are you sure you want us? I mean, why me?" Arcadia questioned the king, a little confused.

"You will remain by Hendrickson's side, will you not? You are also a strong woman. I think my daughter will appreciate you being there with her." Arcadia's face went a little red as she nodded her head.

"Of course, sire, we would be honored to travel with Princess Margaret." Hendrickson ended up responding after the king was done speaking. Dreyfus nodded his head in agreement.

"We will give our lives to protect her," Dreyfus noted, much to Arcadia's horror. She didn't plan on giving her life, or anything like that for anyone other than Hendrickson.

"You don't need to go that far. Make sure you four return all in one piece."

"Yes, sire." Hendrickson and Dreyfus mumbled in unison.

"You will leave tomorrow." With that, the three of them were dismissed. They ran into Griamore and Howzer on their way back to Dreyfus's home.

"Hello, father," Griamore spoke with a smile on his face.

"Hello, Griamore. Feeling better?" Dreyfus responded with a smile of his own.

"Yes, very much so."

"Where are you two off to?" Hendrickson questioned curiously.

"We're going to get drunk!" Howzer happily responded, causing Arcadia to laugh. "Oh right, you haven't met Arcadia now that you're all grown up, have you?" Griamore just shook his head.

"It's nice to finally meet the real you, Griamore. Even though you were so adorable as a child." Arcadia's words caused the giant man to blush slightly.

"It's... It's nice to be able to meet you now that I'm myself again. Please forget how I was as a child." His embarrassment was so adorable to the female, so she just smiled softly and nodded his head. Then, Howzer noticed how close Hendrickson and Arcadia were to each other.

"Wait, did you two finally hook up?!"

"What?! No! It's not... We just got together!" It was now Arcadia's turn to blush.

"It isn't anything like that yet for them Howzer," Dreyfus spoke, trying to help out his two friends.

"Yet, huh?" Howzer's tone was suggestive, which caused Hendrickson to begin to blush.

"Go away, you children! Go get drunk!" Arcadia shoved both of them away and spun around to face the two men she was with. She ignored the laughter from Howzer as the other two holy knights walked away.

"You alright, Arcadia? You're awfully red." Dreyfus was now teasing the poor girl.

"Now, now Dreyfus, leave my woman alone." Hendrickson was just adding to the redness.

"Oh my god, both of you are as horrible as the children!" Arcadia tried to walk away, but Hendrickson caught her arm. "What is it?"

"Shall we go drinking as well?"

"Hendy? You're actually wanting to go drinking?" Dreyfus questioned, a little shocked.

"Well, we should celebrate you getting your body back."

"We really should," Arcadia noted as she nodded her head.

"You seem eager to drink," Dreyfus commented simply.

"My father won't let me drink, so if I'm with you two, he won't have a say."

"I see. Well then, let's go get drunk!" Dreyfus laughed and pulled along both of his friends. It was nice for the three of them. It seemed Dreyfus and Arcadia had an instant connection, which made Hendrickson extremely happy. The most important man and woman in his life got along great.

~

The next day came and the three of them woke up and got ready for the day. They'd had a fun night of drinking, and passed out in the main room of Dreyfus's home. They were a little stiff the next day and slightly hungover, but they were happy. Well happier than they've been in a long time. It was like the old days, just with the addition of Arcadia.

They were surprised when Escanor showed up at Dreyfus's door though. He begged Hendrickson and Arcadia to come and help Merlin. So, agreeing to meet up later, the three friends split up and Arcadia and Hendrickson headed to the new Boar Hat, that was made a little too quickly and caused some concern for some people.

Hendrickson sat next to the girl's bed while Arcadia stood next to him. They checked her over, while the impatient Escanor waited.

"W...Well? How's her condition?" Escanor questioned, pleadingly.

"These are symptoms of a curse... and it's a terrifyingly powerful one at that," Hendrickson responded as he held a hand over Merlin's face.

"A C...CURSE?!"

"Escanor... What in the world happened to Lady Merlin?"

"Last night... she seemed unwell the whole time, so I was worried about her... I came to visit on her in the morning.. and she had an awful fever... her eyes were slightly open, but she wasn't conscious at all... I was shocked..."

"Regrettably... This is not something that my abilities are capable of handling..." Hendrickson was panting now. "Dare say... even the power of two druid elders wouldn't be enough... Arcadia, you try..."

"Alright..." The girl held her hand out, but quickly found she was unable to do anything. "I can't either."

"Th... That can't be..." Hendrickson then thought of something and flew out of his chair. That startled Arcadia and Escanor and they could only watch as the white-haired man ran out of the Boar Hat.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Hendrickson was heard yelling out. Then there was some hushed talking before Elizabeth appeared there.

"Lady Merlin.. wh... what an awful fever!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she felt Merlin's head.

"According to Elaine, it seemed like she was trying to hide the fact that she wasn't feeling well all through the feast last night..." Escanor explained to the pale-haired girl.

"...I'll give it my best shot." She then began to radiate a powerful light.

"P...princess... you had this kind of power? But Hendy, will she really be able to dispel a curse that even you couldn't handle?"

"Compared to Elizabeth's magic, the druids' power is just a cheap imitation," Hendrickson responded, as Arcadia glared at him. He was giving away too much information.

"That sounds almost like a fantasy fairy tale."

"Hendy, this is bad... I don't like her dealing with a curse like this..." Arcadia's worries were answered when a bright light and massive amount of Elizabeth's power was suddenly filling the room and pouring outside of the Boar Hat. Merlin was now sitting up and Elizabeth was panting.

"MERLIN!" Escanor yelled out happily just as Meliodas burst into the room.

"What happened?!" Meliodas yelled out, slightly panicked.

"Zeldris's magic had me trapped in a deep sleep. If princess Elizabeth had not broken his spell, I would have been in terrible danger... you have my thanks..." Merlin responded as she climbed out of bed.

"Elizabeth broke Zeldris's magic...?"

"Yes... she was quite impressive..."

"Hendy... this is bad..." Arcadia muttered to her lover as Elizabeth fled from the room, giving Meliodas a cold shoulder as she went.

"What do you mean?" Hendrickson mumbled back, trying to keep his voice low. The girl just shook her head and walked out of the room with Hendrickson following behind her.

"We need to meet up with Dreyfus and the princess..." Arcadia spoke as soon as they walked out of the Boar Hat. Hendrickson nodded his head and followed the girl. They first took a trip to Hendrickson's house so he could change his clothing and pick up his weapon.

After that, they met up with Dreyfus and Margaret. Arcadia chose to not ride on a horse, due to her irrational fear. She would fly and if she got tired then she'd ride with Hendrickson.

"It's nice to meet you, princess. I swear I will do everything I can to help find Gilthunder." Arcadia spoke to the princess.

"Thank you, Arcadia." The princess returned with a soft smile on her face.

"Dreyfus, you cut your hair?" Hendrickson questioned, even though the answer was obvious.

"The long hair was Fraudrin's choice, correct?" Arcadia questioned butting into their conversation.

"Yes, it was," Dreyfus responded as he lifted a hand to run through his now short hair.

"He always... he always did like his hair long in anybody he possessed..." The sadness in Arcadia's voice was clear. She still wasn't completely over Fraudrin's death. Even so, she knew her new life with Hendrickson was starting now, and that she needed to push past those feelings she shared with the demon. She was ready to help Margaret find her lover because she couldn't imagine how she'd feel if she'd lost Hendrickson like Margaret lost Gilthunder.


	12. Journey

Chapter 12 – Journey

For the next few days, the little group traveled in the direction where Arcadia sensed Gilthunder's presence. They came across some demons along the way, but nothing the group couldn't handle. It was nice, but each night that passed, Arcadia felt worse and worse.

As per usual, her and Hendrickson cuddled as they fell asleep. That wasn't the problem though. The problem was when Margaret looked at them. She had a longing look in her eyes and it was making Arcadia feel horrible. She was flaunting that she had her man, while the princess was searching for hers. So, Arcadia did the only thing she could think of. She began to pull away from Hendrickson, much to the man's confusion.

"Dreyfus..." Hendrickson mumbled late one night when the girls were out on a bathroom break together.

"Yes, Hendy?" Dreyfus questioned back, a little confused to Hendrickson's sudden speaking.

"Is Arcadia avoiding me?"

"...No of course not, why would she?" His hesitation at the beginning of his sentence made Hendrickson look over at Dreyfus.

"You're lying." Hendrickson had his answer now. His lover was avoiding him, and he wasn't sure why. "Did... I do something wrong?"

"No, Hendy, I don't think you did. Maybe you should ask her about it though. Women are fickle creatures and you are a little... unknowing when it comes to them. So maybe you accidentally said the wrong thing to her without realizing it." Dreyfus patted his friend on his back and then got up to grab a few more pieces of firewood.

Soon, the women returned and Arcadia took her seat once more. However, she sat a little further from Hendrickson than before. Instead of asking her about it, Hendrickson kept quiet. That was until it was time to go to bed and Arcadia declared she wanted to sleep by herself.

"What do you mean? We..." Hendrickson was at a loss for words. He just stared at the girl, a bit confused and a bit hurt.

"Now, now you two, what's going on? For as long as I've known, you two have slept next to each other." Dreyfus chose now to get involved. It seemed like Hendrickson was too inexperienced to know how to handle the situation.

"I'm just a little overheated, so it's best to just sleep alone," Arcadia spoke back sounding a little irritated.

"It's because of me, isn't it?" It was the princess getting into their conversation now.

"Of course not."

"Lady Arcadia, please don't lie to me." Arcadia then frowned and looked to the ground. She didn't want to speak any further about it. She didn't want to admit anything to the princess. "I understand why Arcadia has been pulling away from you, Sir Hendrickson."

"You know? Do you also Dreyfus?" Hendrickson responded, looking over at his friend.

"Yes, when you pay attention, it's easy to see," Dreyfus responded as he sadly looked over at his friend. Hendrickson was feeling clueless in that moment and he hated it.

"Sir Hendrickson, Arcadia loves you dearly. Just like I love Gil, and that's why she is pulling away from you. She is trying to be conscious of my feelings and protect my emotions."

"She saw that being near you was hurting Lady Margaret. So she backed off."

"...I see..." It was so obvious now that it upset Hendrickson further. He should have seen it and been more conscious as well. "I apologize, Princess Margaret. I should have noticed your feelings."

"It's..." The princess wanted to say that it was okay, but she knew that she was still upset over the situation.

"How about, we all go to bed and calm down for now? I sense demons nearby and I think they will cause us problems tomorrow." Arcadia spoke, trying to diffuse the situation. The other three adults nodded their heads and went off to their sleeping places. Dreyfus was near the fire on one side with the princess on the other, while Arcadia and Hendrickson stood there and stared at each other for a moment. They weren't sure what to do, but eventually, they made their way to each other and fell asleep holding each other like usual.

The next morning, Arcadia was still in Hendrickson's arms like she always was when they woke up. Hendrickson was almost worried she'd pull away from him during the night, but he felt relieved when she was still there that morning.

"I'm sorry for making you unsure of our relationship," Arcadia mumbled to Hendrickson as she tried to wake herself up. "Please, Hendy, don't ever doubt that I love you deeply."

"...I love you as well, Arc." Hendrickson eventually responded as he felt a smile rise up on his face. The girl smiled back at him before pulling away to sit up. Hendrickson followed her and noticed that both Dreyfus and Margaret were already up and ready for the day.

"It took you two long enough to get up. Lazy couple." Dreyfus muttered, with fake bitterness with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, hush, old man," Arcadia mumbled back, though Dreyfus was ready for that one.

"Just how old are you again?"

"How dare you ask a woman her age..." Arcadia responded with a fake gasp. Hendrickson just fondly smiled at the two of them as they fake argued with each other.

"They seem to get along great," Margaret commented as she joined Hendrickson in watching their companions.

"I'm glad. It would have been... difficult if they didn't get along."

"I've never seen you look at someone like that before, Sir Hendrickson. You must truly love her." Her tone was a little sad, causing Hendrickson to frown.

"Don't worry princess, we'll get Gilthunder back." Margaret just nodded her head and returned to watching the bickering pair. However, Hendrickson decided that they'd pretended fought long enough and went to stop them. "Now, now, don't act like children."

"Oh hush, you're an old man too." Arcadia snapped with a smile on her face.

"You're more than 3,000 years old, you're an old woman." Hendrickson soon realized that was not the correct thing to say, as his lover just slowly turned to glare at him.

"How have you lived this long?" Dreyfus suddenly questioned before the girl could snap at her lover. She thought for a moment and then just smiled at the brown-haired man.

"I'm cursed to forever live. It's my punishment for being born. No matter how many times I lose my hearts, I'll come back, just like my father."

"Meliodas is your father, correct? Then who is your mother?" Margaret questioned, curious about it now.

"The original Elizabeth, she was a goddess. You can't tell her though... however I fear she has found that out herself from breaking Zeldris's curse."

"You were punished for being born?" Dreyfus asked, a little disgusted. He couldn't believe someone could curse a child just because they were born. Arcadia just smiled sadly at the man.

"Yes. My exact punishment is to watch all I love die, in the form of eternal life. I've seen so many people I grew to love die..."

"So you've loved more than just Fraudrin and Hendrickson?"

"No, well... One person was as important to me as they are, but she murdered me brutally, so she doesn't count anymore."

"What?!" All three people were a little horrified at that.

"Wait, she?" Hendrickson commented, being the only one who caught that. Arcadia just smiled at him, full of panic and shook her head.

"Nothing. That's a story for another time." Before the white-haired man could respond, two screams could be heard. "There are demons nearby. We need to go." The group then collected their belongings and got on their horses with Arcadia getting on a horse with Hendrickson.

Once they got there, they could see two humans being attacked by a giant bear-like demon and a few smaller, creepier demons. Hendrickson and Dreyfus took care of the bigger demon, while Arcadia and Margaret took care of the smaller demons.

It was one hell of a fight and it looked like the demons would beat Dreyfus and Hendrickson, but thankfully Hendrickson was able to get the upper hand. As the demon growled at Dreyfus due to the man's attack, Hendrickson darted forward.

"No, you don't!" Hendrickson then was able to purge the demon, winning their fight. Meanwhile, Margaret was having trouble fighting off her demons. Arcadia was fighting off some, but a few had slipped passed and got to the princess.

"Help me!" The man yelled out as he protectively held onto his woman.

"Get behind me!" Margaret forcefully spoke as she fought off the demons with her sword. She had been injured by one of them and was just swinging her sword without really hitting any of the demons. Thankfully though, Hendrickson and Dreyfus hurried over and used a combined attack to wipe out all of the demons instantly. It also thankfully missed Arcadia, because she probably would have been hurt by the purging aspect of their attack.

"That was close," Dreyfus noted as he looked over to Hendrickson. Instantly, the white-haired human made his way to the injured princess.

"You should not try to push yourself," Hendrickson spoke as he healed the girl. "Does it still hurt?"

"...I'm fine." The princess responded a little upset. Hendrickson just frowned at the girl, before their moment was interrupted by Dreyfus's yelling.

"This is outrageous!" Dreyfus yelled out at the couple. "Right now, there are demons running amok all over Britannia... and We're coming all the way out here into the mountains for a secret little lovers' rendezvous?!"

"Didn't you come out here for a rendezvous, too?" The man questioned innocently.

"WITH WHO?!" Hendrickson was instantly there trying to calm down his friend as Arcadia just laughed.

"Come on now, don't get upset." Hendrickson simply stated to his best friend after sending a glare Arcadia's way for laughing at the situation. "We're currently on a journey to find a certain hold knight and the sorceress that abducted him... Does that ring any bells?"

"...A knight... and a sorceress... not sure..." The man responded a little hesitantly as he thought about it.

"After this, don't you dare do anything foolish agai-" Dreyfus began to say but was cut off by Hendrickson speaking over him.

"Make sure you get home safely."

"Yes, sir!" The man spoke as he and his woman began to leave.

"Dammit, Hendy!" Arcadia ignored Dreyfus's complaining and watched as Margaret looked at the couple with such pain in her eyes. She was also acting a little weird.

"Gil?!" Margaret questioned, appearing to hear something as she spun around, to face Hendrickson and Dreyfus.

"Lady Margaret?" Dreyfus questioned, a little worried for the girl.

"Is something the matter?" Hendrickson asked next, also worried.

"Are you okay?" Arcadia muttered next, having heard what the girl had heard, but not clearly enough to understand it.

"Just now...Never mind, must have been my imagination. I thought I heard a whisper on the wind just now..."

"I heard that too..." Arcadia's voice was low enough that no one heard her, but now she was on edge. "Come here you two, let me heal you," Arcadia spoke louder, getting the attention of the two males.

"We're fine," Dreyfus commented, but just got glared at by the woman.

"You both are bloodied up. Let me take care of it. Let me be useful, please." The two men couldn't deny the girl now that she'd said that. She purposefully had guilt tripped them so she could help them, otherwise, Hendrickson would have just taken care of it. However, Arcadia wanted the man to rest up a bit more before they headed out.

Once Arcadia healed and cleaned the blood off of the two men, they headed out. With Arcadia flying next to Hendrickson, the group traveled further into the mountains. Until they came across a fork in the trail they were on.

"The road ahead splits off into two. What should we do?" Hendrickson directed his question to Dreyfus.

"I believe the right on leads to a village." Dreyfus might have said that, but the princess had continued on her way, ignoring his next words. "Why don't we head there to hole up for the night, Lady Margaret." The princess chose the other route. "Lady Margaret... Err... The right..." While Dreyfus just watched confused, Hendrickson frowned.

Before the princess got too far ahead, the men hurried along after her with Arcadia flying with Hendrickson the whole time. The girl remained silent though. She had nothing to say to Hendrickson. It was odd because the girl usually used any chance to talk to the man. She was being silent due to her feeling a strange aura around them. It was like another person was present, even though it was only the four of them.

Later on, once night began to fall the group stopped. Hendrickson and Margaret built the fire while Arcadia and Dreyfus went on a hunt.

"What should we try to get?" Arcadia questioned as the two of them wandered through the forest together.

"How do you truly feel about Hendy?" Dreyfus countered, much to the shock of the girl. She froze in her walking and turned to face him. She didn't know Dreyfus all that well, but she could tell he had a protective face on currently.

"I will destroy anyone who threatens him."

"That sounds like such a demon thing to say."

"Well... I am a half-demon..."

"Do you truly love him, because if you plan on hurting him..."

"You don't want me to hurt him, and I don't want to hurt him. I love him more than I ever loved Fraudrin." That seemed to have been what Dreyfus was looking for, as he nodded his head and then continued walking, leaving the girl needing to speed walk to catch up with him.

"Arcadia, don't let that fool die." The girl was a little confused, but she just nodded her head anyway.

"I'd die long before I ever let him give his life."

"Good." Dreyfus had a smile on his face, and it caused a smile of her own to appear on Arcadia's face. "So, have you two kissed?"

"I kissed him once when he was still half-awake."

"I see." Dreyfus smiled softly at the girl. With that, Dreyfus seemed to have enough answers and went silent.

Soon, the pair had spotted a giant rabbit and darted after it. After a few bites and a lot of running, the pair had caught the monster rabbit. Quickly, they returned to Hendrickson and Margaret to see them chatting by the fire.

"Look, I know that you're upset... having to travel together with the person that caused you and Gil suffering for ten long years, and also twisted Vivian into what she became..." Hendrickson was saying as he stared into the fire. "The agony must be almost unbearable..."

"That's right... I'm so angry and frustrated... and I can't do a think about it..." The princess responded as she closed her eyes.

"Hang on just a second! If anyone's responsible, it's me..." Dreyfus tried to say but was stopped when the princess began to speak again.

"I'm always having to be protected, and all I can ever do is pray... I'm so powerless and helpless... Even at a time like this, when Gil is facing humiliation at the hands of Vivian." Margaret then looked up at the three adults watching her. "I'm so very thankful to you three. There's no way I would have been able to go on a journey like this on my own." The girl smiled at the three of them, causing Dreyfus and Arcadia to smile back at her. Hendrickson however just looked a little relieved.

"By the way Dreyfus... why didn't you want to head to the village?" Hendrickson suddenly questioned as Dreyfus sat down next to him. Arcadia had also sat down, but on the other side between Hendrickson and the princess.

"Huh? I... I was the one that said we should go there..."

"But you whispered that we should go left, didn't you?" Both men looked at each other in confusion. Suddenly, Margaret stood up with a gasp.

"What's the matter?" Dreyfus questioned as he worriedly looked at the girl.

"...I'll be right back." With those words, the princess began to wander away.

"Don't go straying away too far now!" Hendrickson yelled out to the disappearing princess.

"Alright..."

"...Hey Dreyfus... Those two earlier..."

"Gah! Don't remind me! These young-ins these days!" Dreyfus snapped out annoyed at being reminded of the two.

"Young-ins?" Arcadia muttered with a laugh, however, the tone turned serious instantly.

"No, not that... I'm sure Margaret felt really lonely then... From an outsider's perspective, however silly or meaning it may have seemed... I'm sure she would have liked to have done something like that with Gil." Hendrickson was dead serious as he stared into the fire. "...We were the ones that stole precious moments like that away from those two... That's why I want to try to make up for it somehow."

"...Yeah, we will definitely save Gil... Besides, we still need to pass along my brother's words to him, right?" Dreyfus smiled at Hendrickson and the white-haired man smiled back.

"Yeah."

"But I'm kind of surprised... that you're actually able to understand a woman's heart a bit now. Must be because of Arcadia, right?" Dreyfus then smacked Hendrickson right on his back causing the other man to jolt.

"Quit making fun of me! I've just gotten older, that's all... And that hurt!" Arcadia couldn't help but just laugh at the situation.

"Need me to kiss it better, you baby?" Arcadia asked her lover with a teasing smirk on her face.

"Don't you start making fun of me too!" Arcadia just laughed and leaned against Hendrickson. She kissed the side of his face with a smile on her own face.

"Don't be mad, Hendy. I love you even if I tease you." The comment made Hendrickson's face turn a little pink.

"You're supposed to say that you love her too and then kiss her now..." Dreyfus whispered to the white-haired man. He just glared at Dreyfus and began to speak.

"Shut it, I know!" Hendrickson then turned to his laughing lover and surprised her by pulling her close and pressing his lips to hers. She was shocked at first but quickly kissed back for a moment before the two pulled away from each other.

"...I didn't expect that..." Dreyfus had looked away from the kissing couple with a startled blush on his face.

"Now both of you, stop making fun and teasing me." There were a few moments of silence before Arcadia spoke up.

"So, um... the princess has been gone a while now, hasn't she?"

"Maybe she's takin' a piss?" To Hendrickson's words, Dreyfus turned to him to glare at him.

"I take back everything I said."

Instantly, the three of them all jumped up and extinguished the fire. As soon as the fire was out, the three began to call out for the princess.

"Lady Margaret! Lady Margaret, answer us please!"

"Where in the world did she get off to?! You don't think... she's been injured somewhere?!" Dreyfus yelled out as the three looked around for the woman.

"...Dreyfus..." Hendrickson mumbled worriedly.

"What?"

"...I've got a really bad feeling about this... In fact, it started ever since lady Margaret said that earlier... It's just like what we experienced 10 years ago in the chasm at Danafor..." Both men instantly began to sweat and got on edge.

"I've been sensing pretty weird things... Come, she's this way I think!" Arcadia yelled out and began to run in a certain direction. She led them to a boulder, where Hendrickson could now see the woman.

"Please be okay, Lady Margaret..." Dreyfus muttered.

"Dreyfus, in there!" Hendrickson called out to his friend as he began to head into the boulder.

"Why was she going into this boulder...?"

"I don't know... but for now, let's just keep going after her!" It took a little bit, but eventually, Hendrickson reached the inside with a gasp. Arcadia was next followed by a panting and out of breath Dreyfus. "Th...This is a druid altar! Though it's different from the ones I've known..."

"You're not Gil... Who... are you? Why did you call me?" Margaret questioned, looking up at the altar.

"Margaret... Bearer of such a sublime, beautiful, precious soul... I had been waiting for someone like you... I heard prayers, and brought you here to grant your wish."

"Th...this voice?!" Hendrickson gaped out horrified.

"I knew it!" Dreyfus commented horrified as well.

"Oh shit, I recognize that voice..." Arcadia muttered, slowly backing up now.

"But in order for that, your devotion and dedication is essential." The being continued to Margaret.

"NO! DON'T LISTEN TO WHAT IT SAYS!" All three of the other adults yelled out to the princess. However, it was too late.

"If I will be able to take back Gil from Vivian... I can bear anything." Suddenly, the girl was engulfed by light.

"This is bad!" Hendrickson tried to use purge, but it didn't work. Power was sent everywhere, shoving Hendrickson backward.

"HENDRICKSON!" Dreyfus yelled out, terrified for his friend. Arcadia was almost back to the exit now as fear filled her.

"Ah, yes... The secret technique that we had once taught to the druids... Ah, I'm overflowing with magic power... For it to have this much affinity with my magic... This is truly the perfect Vessel!"

"There's no doubt about it... I've felt this magic somewhere before... No, not from my memories, but from Fraudrin's..." As Dreyfus muttered to himself, Hendrickson nearly collapsed to the ground. "Hey, what's wrong?!"

"Your magic power... is filled with this much light?! Wh... are you?!" Hendrickson mumbled as he stared at the being. After the being calmed its power down, wings appeared hovering on Margaret's back.

"I am of the goddess clan, one of the four archangels, Ludociel. Follow me, humans... Become a member of my Stigma... And together, we shall destroy the demon clan." The being inside of Margaret spoke in a slightly different voice than hers. His eyes then landed on Arcadia. "Well hello there, little one. Trying to escape me, are you?"


	13. Changes

Chapter 13 – Changes

"Well hello there, little one. Trying to escape me, are you?" Ludociel, who was now possessing Margaret spoke to the terrified Arcadia. Instantly, the two men looked back at her. She had her back against the wall and she was shaking.

"N-No, sir... I was..."

"Hush, I won't kill you. I can see from this woman's memories that you and I are on the same side... this time. I have no reason to harm you, currently."

"Arcadia? Are you alright?!" Dreyfus went to the girl's side and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I was once nearly killed by him... back when I was still on the side of the demons..." Arcadia's voice was low and shaky. Ludociel just smiled at the scared girl.

"As I said, I have no reason to hurt you. Now, moving onto this girl's wish." Ludociel began to call forth his power as he ranted on. "During the time of the Holy War, 3,000 years ago... All out military might was supposed to be in a state of equilibrium, but the goddess clan who suddenly found themselves holding the heavier end of power were forced to make a very bitter decision... To sacrifice our own bodies to seal the demon clan... Becoming spirit form, we dwelled within relics of the time and awaited the moment of our revival."

"She can't be a real goddess of the goddess clan?!" Dreyfus questioned Hendrickson as he approached the man again.

"This sacred power... There's no doubt about it!" Hendrickson responded as they watched the Archangel do something with his magical power.

"...Of course, we knew. That sealing them was simply delaying the inevitable..." Ludociel pulled out Margaret's sword and did a cross in the air, causing a huge portal type thing to open. "The only way to truly settle this is for one of us to ultimately be destroyed." Ludociel then stabbed something with the sword as he walked through the portal. Instantly Hendrickson and Dreyfus walked through, with the brown-haired man pulling along Arcadia. She was too afraid to move, so he'd taken her hand and led her along with them. "I've kept my promise. I've saved your lover and subdued the witch whom you hate."

While Ludociel talked with Gil and Margaret, Dreyfus went to Vivian's side. She was bleeding out and dying. Hendrickson was just looking around in awe.

"This is cruel... It's just too much! Hendy, Arc, help me! Lend me your strength!" Dreyfus yelled out but was only met with the response from Gil.

"Holy Knight Captain, Dreyfus! Wait, no, you! You're one of the Ten Commandments! It was you who did this to Margaret, wasn't it!?"

"Gilthunder! W-W-W-Wait a sec! It's me! The real Dreyfus! But more important, Hendy, Arc, Hurry!"

"Liar!"

"You've gotta trust me, it's really me! Right Hendy, Arc! Hendy!" However, Hendrickson was walking over to the goddess. As Arcadia just looked after her lover. She was eventually yanked down by Dreyfus. "Tell Gil, it's really me!"

"Gilthunder, it really is Dreyfus," Arcadia spoke after she was shocked out of it. "Fraudrin is dead now... And Dreyfus, I'm sorry, but Vivian is too close to being dead. I can't heal her."

Suddenly, after some chatting between Hendrickson and Ludociel, the goddess pointed his sword and shot off some power in a direction. That power ended up hitting Zeldris, head on.

"Please, accept this gift. It is but a welcoming present. Hmm, as I thought, this vessel is truly magnificent. But I still require more time before I have full control over it..."

"Margaret...?" Gilthunder questioned as horror was written all over his face.

"That was incredible... Did you see that power?! It was like the very light of God! With this on our side, the people will no longer have to fear the threat of the demon clan!" Hendrickson was caught up in awe of the goddess, much to Dreyfus's and Arcadia's dismay.

"Hendrickson... Calm yourself and focus!" Dreyfus scolded, causing the white-haired man to look down at him.

"What's wrong? What do you two look so scared for?"

"You truly plan to make those two sacrifice even more?" Dreyfus spoke as he looked over at Gilthunder, who was yelling at the Archangel.

"Why?! Why did you have to choose Margaret?!"

"It was heroic, was it not? That this girl would offer herself up to save you." Ludociel simply responded with a smirk on Margaret's face.

"P...Please just return her back to normal! Margaret, you can hear me, can't you?! Please... Answer me! Why?!" Before the poor man could keep yelling, a powerful blast began to head their way. "Margaret, look out!"

"Lady Margaret!" Dreyfus yelled out in panic.

"Lord Ludociel!"

"He'll be fine..." Arcadia muttered as the attack drew closer. Sure enough, the Archangel just countered the attack and then turned around as if nothing had happened.

"Come, let's return to Liones," Ludociel muttered before going back through the portal, leaving everyone in shock. Gilthunder was the first to move and then Hendrickson. Then Dreyfus, leaving the body of Vivian there. He paused though when he noticed that Arcadia didn't move from her spot.

"Arcadia?" Dreyfus questioned, as he reached out to the frozen girl. She just sadly turned around to face him.

"Things will only get worse from here..." Arcadia muttered before walking passed Dreyfus and entering the portal. The man was left with no choice but to follow her quickly.

"For a second there, I thought you weren't going to join us." Ludociel cockily spoke to the girl after she appeared on the other side.

"I will not leave Hendrickson's side." Arcadia simply stated glaring at the man.

"Oh? I see. You are this druid's lover... How disgusting. I truly pity you, Hendrickson. To have such a woman as a lover. If you were smart, you'd start distancing yourself from her. She will bring you nothing but sadness. After all, she was once the lover of a demon."

"Lord Ludociel..." Hendrickson looked between the Archangel and his lover, before ultimately, turning away from Arcadia. The girl bit her lip and tried hard to not show any more emotions. She just wrote Hendrickson's attitude off as still in shock over meeting an actual Archangel. The druid in him was probably geeking out, or something.

Eventually, the group made it back to Liones. Everyone seemed so happy to see Gilthunder had returned.

"Your majesty... I must apologize for the trouble and worry that I've caused you." Gilthunder spoke to the king sadly.

"Nonsense! I'm just glad you're safe!" Bartra responded before looking to his daughter. "Margaret... who are those people behind you? Are they new servants of yours?" Instantly, Elizabeth was right in front of her adoptive father.

"No, father. That is not sister Margaret."

"Elizabeth? What are you saying?!"

"To be more accurate, someone else is controlling Margaret's body..."

"Well, well... It has been quite a long time, Elizabeth. It seems the curse of perpetual rebirth that Mother, the Supreme Deity cast upon you is still going strong."

"As I suspected, it is you..."

"So... then that's not really Margaret?! If not, then... who are you?!"

"The four Archangels of the goddess clan. Ludociel" Margaret responded. Then the monk behind him spoke up.

"The same, Tarmiel."

"That goes for me too. Sariel." Came the voice of seemingly a child.

"W...What are you planning on doing with Margaret... with my daughter?! Return her to me this instant!"

"Margaret offered her body up to me on her own... Will her father truly ignore his daughter's own decision?" Ludociel questioned as Hendrickson left Arcadia's side to approach the king and Archangel.

"Your majesty! You needn't worry. As long as Lord Ludociel is inhabiting her, Margaret will, without a doubt be safe!" Hendrickson spoke to the king.

"Yes... but..."

"Even an attack from the likes of the Ten Commandments' Zeldris is mere child's play before Lord Ludociel! And most importantly!" As Hendrickson spoke like an insane man, Dreyfus darted towards him. "When the Holy Way begins once again, the power of the Archangels will be absolutely essential! So please, try to understan-OWWWW!" Dreyfus full on punched the back of Hendrickson's head.

"Come with me, Hendy!" Dreyfus began to drag Hendrickson away, but both men were distracted by the lights appearing in the sky, proving the pact formed by Elizabeth and Ludociel. Hendrickson just smiled like he was in awe, while Dreyfus just looked a bit worried and shocked. Meanwhile, Arcadia was following after them, upset over the whole situation.

After everything calmed down, Dreyfus dragged Hendrickson back to his place, with Arcadia following them again.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Hendy? Why are you acting like this?" Dreyfus demanded, angry with his friend.

"What are you talking about? I'm not acting any different than I usually am." Hendrickson responded, only to be glared at by Arcadia.

"You're acting like a crazed fanboy." His lover responded bitterly. "This has been a really long day. Can we all just go to bed?"

"I think I'm going to go talk with Lord Ludociel some more."

"Wait, you... you won't go to sleep with me?" The hurt was evident in Arcadia's voice and shown clearly on her face. However, Hendrickson was already out of the door and closing it. "Fine, you can find me in Dreyfus's bed then! Come on!" The girl then dragged Dreyfus away from the main room. However, she stopped in the hallway and leaned against the wall.

"Arc...adia?" Dreyfus hesitantly questioned worriedly for his friend.

"What is going to happen now? I thought everything was going to be fine again but Hendrickson..."

"I understand. Let's go to bed." Dreyfus put his hand on the girl's lower back and guided her to his bedroom.

"You're okay with sleeping next to me?"

"Of course, you can't sleep alone anymore, can you?" The girl just shook her head. "Alright then. Here." Dreyfus handed the girl some of his clothing and sent her away to get changed. He got changed as well in the meantime and they met back up on

their respective sides of the bed. Arcadia was on the right side while Dreyfus was on the left.

"You're sure about this?"

"Just get in the bed, Arc." Dreyfus climbed in the bed as Arcadia hesitated. She then gave up with feeling uncertain and got in and laid down next to Dreyfus.

"I'm sorry."

"You aren't the one who needs to be sorry." With that, Dreyfus and Arcadia drifted off to sleep. They didn't end up cuddling or anything, but just by being near him, kept the nightmares away from Arcadia and helped her sleep peacefully. She felt a little lonely though and wondered where in the hell Hendrickson was.

The next day, Dreyfus and Arcadia were called into a war meeting with the Archangels and a few other people, including Merlin, Escanor, Griamore, Howzer, and Elizabeth. Arcadia sat next to Ludociel and Merlin.

"We will now begin going over the battle strategy as well as the squad rosters and formation," Merlin stated to the room. However, she was interrupted by the other goddesses mumbling.

"I'm in shock... It really is Mael's grace." Sariel muttered to Tarmiel.

"I can't believe it," Tarmiel responded in disbelief. They were looking at Escanor, and the large man turned to glare at them.

"What?! I'll have you know I'm in a seriously bad mood right now!" Escanor snapped at the two Archangels.

"Stop with the chit chat!" Merlin snapped, bringing order back to the room.

"...Yes, ma'am."

"First, the defense force will be stationed here to protect our position at Liones to the bitter end. The search-and-destroy force will make their way south towards Camelot clashing with the demon clan's armies head-on, destroying any trace of them. We'll take the minimum amount of people possible to form the assault squad that will launch the direct attack on Camelot."

"The commanders of the defense force will be Dreyfus at the south gate, Griamore at the east gate and Hendrickson at the north gate," Dreyfus spoke up next.

"The search-and-destroy force will be the largest of our forces, so Gilthunder and I will take command for the Holy Knights," Howzer explained next.

"Tarmiel and Sariel will command the search-and-destroy force as well on behalf of the four Archangels... and now for some good news. It seems the giant village and fairy king's forest will be sending their own armies to join us in the fight." Ludociel explained after Howzer.

"The assault squad will be made up of three people – Escanor, Lord Ludociel, and myself. This is to lower casualties from Zeldris' piety commandment as well as attempt to prevent free-for-all bedlam." Merlin finished off her explanation.

"Lady Elizabeth... I had thought for sure you'd be joining the assault squad..." Ludociel smirked at the young goddess.

"I will be joining the search-and-destroy force along with the Seven Deadly Sins." Elizabeth calmly explained.

"You can't bring yourself to see your lover-turned-evil slain before your very eyes?"

"Stop it, Ludociel." Sariel calmly stated to his leader.

"What...?"

"Stopping Meliodas from finding the remaining commandments is a vital role," Tarmiel spoke followed by Sariel speaking.

"That's right... besides, we need Lady Elizabeth's support."

"Thank you, Tarmiel, Sariel," Elizabeth said to her past friends.

"Hmph... Ah yes, I'd like to request a little change in the plans. I want Hendrickson assigned to me as a bodyguard." To Ludociel's words, both Dreyfus and Arcadia stood up in shock.

"D...Don't be ridiculous! You're going to take him with you into that mass of demonic energy... Straight into the enemy's stronghold at Camelot?!" Dreyfus yelled out enraged. "besides, Hendrickson's already one of the commanders of the defense force! You can't just go deciding that on your own! Surely you can take someone else instead?"

"This is what Hendrickson himself wishes." Hearing those words, broke Arcadia's heart.

"That fool!"

"I'm going too."

"Gil?!" Griamore questioned as he turned around.

"Now you?!" Howzer also questioned in shock.

"Ludociel... Hendrickson is going in order to protect you, isn't he? Well then, I'm going in order to protect Margaret."

"I'm going with you too! Someone needs to protect Hendrickson!" Arcadia yelled out next. She had a look of pure determination written all over her face.

"...Of course, you're both more than welcome. After all, we are allies and allies should work together." Ludociel spoke with a smirk on Margaret's face.

After the meeting, Dreyfus pulled Arcadia away from the group.

"What did you need, Dreyfus?" Arcadia questioned as she allowed herself to be pulled along by the man.

"Promise me, you will come back alive with Hendrickson." The man seemingly begged as he grabbed a hold of the girl's shoulders. Arcadia just nodded her head.

"I will Dreyfus. I swear on my life. I won't allow the man I love to die."

"You can't die either."

"...It definitely won't be my intention, but you never know what will happen. I'd rather die as long as Hendrickson can live." Her determination was clear in her eyes, leaving Dreyfus to just nod. The man was about to leave, but Arcadia grabbed a hold of his hand. "You as well. Don't you die. You aren't allowed. Hendrickson and I didn't go through the trouble of saving you just for you to die." Her last words were joking, but the point was there.

"I'll come back alive. As long as you and Hendrickson do as well."

"We will." With that, the two split up and headed to where they were supposed to. However, Arcadia was stopped once again. This time, by an even more familiar voice.

"Arcadia, please wait a moment." It was Elizabeth. Hesitantly, the girl turned around to face the young girl.

"What is it?"

"I remember everything now. I remember you, my daughter." Elizabeth smiled at the girl, but she didn't return it.

"Look, mother, we were never close in the first place, so whatever this is about..."

"I just... I just wanted to see the woman my only child has become. That's all. Also, Hendrickson is a good man, you picked much better."

"Much better than the demon you hated, right?n I'm sure you were so glad that dad killed him, weren't you? The first man, demon, whatever, I loved."

"You're still taking it hard, that's to be expected..."

"Enough, I've had it with his conversation. I'm not talking about my past or current relationships with you. You don't have the right to know about anything involving me." With that, Arcadia turned away and left. It was time for everyone to get ready for battle anyway. Arcadia was already ready so she just decided to look around for Hendrickson. Of course, when she found him, he was walking with Ludociel. The girl wasn't sure why, but it bothered her.

"Hendrickson!" Arcadia called out as she approached her lover. He turned around and halfway smiled at her, however, instantly the look was replaced by a frown and he looked back to Ludociel. "Hendy..." That hurt, her more than anything, but she still approached the two.

"Hello, Arcadia, are you prepared?" Ludociel questioned with a smirk.

"I am," Arcadia responded as she glared at the Archangel. Ludociel then looked over at Hendrickson, who was now looking over at Dreyfus, who was actually looking over at the little group.

"Are you sure you are alright with this... Hendrickson? You can go fight alongside him."

"This is the path we've both chosen. We won't have any regrets." Hendrickson muttered sadly as he watched his best friend turn angrily away from him.

"I see." The Archangel seemed satisfied enough with that and then turned to Arcadia, who was just watching Dreyfus sadly. "And you, Arcadia? Will you have any regrets not fighting by his side?"

"He'll be fine, I don't need to watch over him. Why are you asking about Dreyfus anyway? I only recently met him." Arcadia questioned, a little confused and irritated.

"Well, you did sleep with him last night, didn't you?"

"Not in an inappropriate way! I can't sleep alone! Hendrickson ran off to be with you, so I was left with no choice!" That response just caused Ludociel to smirk. Seeing the girl's anguish made him happy. He'd always had a distaste for the girl.

"I see. I understand, but, does Hendrickson?" With those words, Ludociel just walked away leaving the girl to turn to look at her lover. He seemed to be slightly upset but then his face turned emotionless. He said nothing to the girl and quickly followed after the Archangel.

"What is happening with us?" Arcadia muttered sadly as she looked longingly after her lover. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look up at Gilthunder.

"Lady Arcadia, are you alright?"

"Don't call me lady, and I'm not sure anymore..." Even so, Arcadia and Gilthunder just made their way to Ludociel. There, the Archangel used his power to make the humans with him float as Arcadia used her wings to fly next to Gilthunder.

"After the passing of 3,000 years, Holy War once again is about to begin! Ladies and gentlemen of Stigma! I promise victory in this. This guiding white hand shall sever the bloodlines of darkness, and with thine swords and spears, you shall save Britannia!" Ludociel yelled out to the entire army. Mostly everyone began to cheer after that speech.

"Looks like that's the end for your self-satisfactory rejoicing," Escanor speaks as he looks away from the Archangel.

With that, the war begins.


	14. War Begins

Chapter 14 – War Begins

After Ludociel's speech, the war officially began. The little group, containing, Merlin, Ludociel, Escanor, Gilthunder, Hendrickson, and Arcadia all made their way to their destination. Once there, they realized that something odd was going on. There was a giant ball of black.

"M-Merlin, what kind of object is that?" Arcadia questioned, a little confused.

"It's a dense and cooperative dark space that occurred when Meliodas and the Ten Commandments coalesced... It is impossible to break through it using momentum or destroying it with magical power. And it's only possible to return from within it. It seems Captain does not want us to disturb him. Even my perfect cube can't withstand it." Merlin answered before finishing and turning to look at the archangel. "Lord Ludociel, is something the matter?" Ludociel said nothing back but glared at Merlin. It was clear he was thinking about something.

"Everyone, do not go away from me." Ludociel finally spoke as he used his magical power to create a diamond-shaped barrier around the little group. Then, he guided the barrier into the darkness, surprising Hendrickson. "But once we get through it, there's no turning back... The only way to get out is to kill Meliodas, the master of this dark zone." That caused Escanor to look over, and Gilthunder to get nervous.

"No, there's another way. To return Meliodas back to normal, right?" Merlin stated, causing the archangel to just glare. As they spoke, the diamond floated out of the darkness and into the hollow center. There they saw another ball of something there in the middle of it.

"That is the inside? What a sight... and what is this thing that looks like a giant cocoon?" Hendrickson questioned as he looked in awe. Soon, the group had their feet on the ground and the barrier around them disappeared.

"It seems like we've been waited," Ludociel commented as three people, well demons, began to approach them.

"The leader of the Four Archangels and the daughter of Belialuin and Escanor, who defeated my brother Estarossa. Even Arcadia, my dear niece. I will not let you disturb Meliodas." Zeldris spoke as he led the other two demons.

As Escanor, Merlin, and Ludociel approached the three demons, the two other humans were hit with the wave of powerful demonic energy. Both Hendrickson and Gilthunder were left sweating and panting for air when they realized how powerful the demons were.

"Don't worry, you two, I'll protect you both," Arcadia noted to the scared humans as Ludociel began to speak to Zeldris.

"It's the first time we've seen each other directly."

"And it will be the last." They were silent for a few moments, just staring at each other.

"...This whole place is so densely packed with the magic energy of those powerful six, it's completely dominating the whole space! Just standing here is enough to make me nearly lost consciousness!" Gilthunder spoke out loud, horrified.

"Without any doubt... Those six are the absolutely mightiest warriors on Earth... I dare say even the Gods would be unable to foresee the outcome of this battle!" Hendrickson noted next, much to Arcadia's annoyance. She didn't like that she was being left out of the situation. She thought she was pretty strong now, but she supposed she was truly nothing compared to the other six.

Finally, though, Escanor made the first move. He swung Rhitta at the demons and the cocoon type thing.

"Get it all out of your system?" Zeldris questions, seemingly bored with the situation.

"Oh...? How impertinent... To be unscathed by one of my attacks." Escanor muttered as he looked up at where his attack ended up.

"I'LL SLAUGHTER ANYONE THAT BRINGS ANY HARM TO THE YOUNG MASTER!" Chandler screams out at Escanor after he realized what the human was trying to do. Merlin then used that as he was distracted and did same hand movements before speaking.

"You'll find that rather impossible," Merlin spoke before her attack activated and hit the three demons while forcing Escanor to jump away.

"Is that the genius wild wench that deceived tour king and the Supreme Deity?!" One of the demons yelled out. "To be honest..."

"I'm disappointed!"

Then the attacking began from Chandler and Cusack. They both went after Merlin, causing Escanor to interfere. The human was hit backward, leaving the woman open.

"Merlin!" Escanor screamed out in fear as the two demons appeared right there at Merlin. However, the woman had it covered and snapped her fingers. With that, they were sent flying backward.

"If she wasn't capable of at least that... It wouldn't have been worth teaming up with her." Ludociel stated, appearing behind the two demons. The Archangel instantly began to swing his sword. He moved faster than anything the demons could have reacted to, causing them to go flying once again.

"Napping! Does this technique belong to that heinous Ludociel the Flash?" Chandler questioned once he stopped moving.

"...Geez, I guess getting old really foes slow the body down a bit... Pacifier." Cusack responded with a smile on his face.

"O son of the Demon King, Zeldris... I have heard the speed of your swordsmanship is greatest in all of the underworld." Ludociel stated smiling down at the shorter man. Then suddenly, there were clashes with both of their swords, resulting in one cut on Zeldris's face and a deeper one on Margaret's. Then, Zeldris's right arm showed that it too had been struck by Ludociel.

"MASTER ZELDRIS!" Cusack yelled out in horror.

"What a cruel man... To harm a woman's face... Didn't you learn from your older brother how to properly treat a woman?"

"Damn him... He injured Margaret's body!" Gilthunder growled out but knew he could do nothing about it. However, Hendrickson suddenly began to run towards Ludociel and Zeldris.

"Hendrickson!" Arcadia yelled out, horrified at her lover.

"Well, at least my brother would never go around possessing women bodies."

"Look out!" Hendrickson yelled out as he protectively grabbed a hold of Ludociel. The two went flying and landed hard due to an attack.

"Were you trying to save me?! Fool! I'd already seen through his attack!" Ludociel yelled out at the now injured man. "What a hopeless idiot." The Ludociel began to heal the man. "Regardless, I accept the resolve you had in trying to protect me. Now, do not interfere, just say back and watch." Ludociel then turned away from Hendrickson and attacked. "Burn in agony from my grace, "Flash"... Oh? Even though that was merely a demonstration, to think you're still able to easily withstand my ability? So this must be the magic power of the demon king." As he spoke, Zeldris began to pull out his sword and take a stance. Instantly, the other two demons jumped away.

"That stance that Master Zeldris has taken..." Cusack muttered as he looked at the smaller demon.

"I wish he would've at least told us he was planning this!" Chandler responded back.

"What I, Zeldris, am about to show you, is my true original power! Savor it well!"

"Well, I'm praying that's not a bluff," Escanor spoke as he watched what was going on.

"You cannot protect me from this point on. Stay back." Ludociel noted to the human standing behind him. Hendrickson seemed to be a little shocked at this.

"Ye-Yes, sir!" Hendrickson responded as he took a step backward.

"Ahh, what a shame!" One of the demons spoke as the other one responded. "Yes, it looks like we are no longer needed!"

"Hmph! Struggle all you want... Victory in this holy war belongs to the goddesses!" Ludociel yelled out with a huge smile.

"Holy war? I have no interest in petty games like that!" Zeldris yelled out as he began to wave his sword around. It was now pointing up and caused everything around him began to be pulled to him. Everyone against the demon began to be drawn in toward him. "Now stay out of my way!" Zeldris attacked everyone, sending them all backward and hitting hard wherever they stopped. However, Arcadia was unaffected by the whole situation. She'd flown up and avoided the gust of powerful wind.

"What... what happened?!" Ludociel gasped out as he hit the wall.

"Uncle Zeldris, please stop!" Arcadia yelled out as he began to draw everyone to him once again. The girl yet again was unaffected.

"M...My body..." Ludociel stabbed Margaret's sword into the ground to stop from flying away. Escanor was also able to stop himself from flying away. However, the other two unconscious humans were unable to do anything.

"Merlin, are you unharmed?!" Escanor questioned, turning around to look at the woman.

"Hendrickson!" Ludociel yelled out as he realized the man was awfully close to Zeldris.

"Hendy! Gil!" Arcadia yelled out, prepared to dive toward them both. However, Merlin had it handled and transported the two humans back to her.

"Don't worry! These two are still alive!" Merlin stated as she floated in place. Suddenly, it got a lot stronger. "...Tch, But we're still in hot water..." She, Hendrickson and Gilthunder was then pulled towards Zeldris, but she transported them yet again behind Escanor.

"Damn their little magic tricks! She's using her teleport spell continuously in order to stay away from Zeldris. A feat only possible by one blessed with infinite magic power!" One of the demons stated annoyed, as the other one spoke as well. "...But simply, running will only delay the inevitable!" As the two demons spoke, Hendrickson thankfully woke up much to the relief of Ludociel and Arcadia.

"Goodness, never cease to worry me, do you?!" Ludociel spoke to the now awake man. "Fine, then! If you want to draw us in that much, then I will gladly come to you! I was caught off-guard by your first attack, but now I know everything about your swordsmanship!" Ludociel smiled widely, as Zeldris smirked at the Archangel.

"Ludociel, no!" Arcadia yelled out as she was too late. The Archangel was sent flying backward, even harder that time. The sword in his hand also broke. Instantly then, he was pulled back toward Zeldris. However, he was stopped by hitting Escanor.

"...And just what are you doing? I'd appreciate if you would keep your distance." Escanor stated, annoyed with the situation.

"It's not like I wanted to fall on your ba...Gah! This is hardly the time and place for this!" Ludociel yelled back.

"For goodness' sake, are they friends, or..."

"You fool!"

"Fool? Me?" Escanor responds as Ludociel turns around to yell at Merlin.

"Merlin! What is the secret behind his magic power?!"

"From what I've gathered up until now, Ominous Nebula has three traits. One, with Zeldris at the center, it can draw things in with an immense power of attraction. Two, it can only draw living things in. three, physical attacks do not reach him, and instead, we are hit with an unknown attack." Merlin began, before continuing. "...And there is one more trait. The techniques that Ludociel and I cast on him before he unleashed his magic power and Ominous Nebula have had no effect on him. He is completely unharmed. This means that magic attacks also do not work against him! I believe that to be another of his "Demon King" powers. An attack that's impossible to defend against, and physical and magical resistance on top of it! This battle is going to be much harder than we could've ever imagined!"

"Escanor! Lend me your aid!" Ludociel demands instantly after listening to Merlin.

"No." Came the simple response of the man. That shocked Ludociel.

"Excuse me?!"

"Giving me an order is a wisecrack at best!"

"A wisecrack..." Both other demons muttered in unison.

"Who exactly do you think you are?!" Ludociel yelled out, annoyed now.

"Lion's sin, Lord Escanor, did you forget?"

"Enough, you presumptuous human! I am the leader of the Four Archangels of the goddess clan, Ludociel! My word is the word of the greatest being, now do as I say!"

"I frankly don't give a hoot, so no."

"How dare..." Ludociel then lost balance and began to descend towards the demon once again.

"Oh no, what a shame."

"Escanor! Give her a hand, why don't you?" Merlin finally stated, causing the man to react instantly.

"Gladly!" He reached out and grabbed the Archangel and pulled him to his chest.

"Wha...?! But I thought you didn't listen to others..." Ludociel gasped out, confused now.

"Merlin's orders are a different story! Now, more importantly... You do have a plan in mind, right? If not, I will send you flying."

"Yes, but only if you agree to follow my orders! The truth we know now... is with the power of the demon king, Zeldris can completely nullify magical attacks... Furthermore, his original ability, Ominous Nebula draws us in with an incredibly powerful vacuum, then striking us with an invisible mysterious force before our own attacks can ever reach him. But what is the true nature of those invisible attacks... Are they created from some kind of dark energy... Or perhaps some still unseen new assassin? I still don't have any idea, but from what my eyes can see, it's not his sword-work! Let's do this just as we planned."

"Not that we have any choice..." Then Escanor began to shine incredibly. The other demons closed their eyes, while Zeldris just closed one eye. Then Escanor released the Archangel and attacked Zeldris.

"No matter how powerful any ability is, there will always be a blind spot to it! If he's just allowing us to attack him in order to counterattack us... Meaning if it uses the same principle as Full Counter. We simply need to calculate the timing of his counterattacks to coordinate our own!" Ludociel yelled out as he prepared for attacking. Both he and Escanor moved to attack, but nothing worked and Zeldris just sent them back once more.

"What?!" Merlin gasped out as she watched the events unfold.

"Nothing is going to work against him!" Arcadia yelled out, still unaffected by everything going on. She was making no move to attack or anything.

"How... was he able to see through our attacks?! We obstructed his field of vision... with the explosion from Escanor's attack, our presence should have been camouflaged..." Ludociel yelled out as they were pulled toward him once more.

"This is a waste of time, I'm going to get serious," Zeldris mumbled.

"What... Did he say?!" Ludociel was answered by Zeldris changing his stance. Everything was stronger now, and Arcadia was getting caught up in it this time.

"He's multiplied the speed and intensity of his vacuum?!" Merlin was shocked at this as she, Hendrickson and Gilthunder were pulled towards the short demon.

"First, I'll eliminate you and take the commandment," Zeldris spoke as he swiped his sword at Merlin. Thankfully though, Escanor interfered and saved the woman.

"Escanor..."

"I'm sorry. I just had to... I was powerless against my own heart... Merlin?!" The woman had a slight cut on her shoulder. That enraged the man and caused him to attack Zeldris. His attack nearly hit Ludociel among the others as well. It caused a piece of the ceiling to collapse, shocking Merlin.

"I can't believe it's this simple, and yet so unparalleled in its brutality... His ability doesn't depend on his sense of sight, hearing or even feeling the presence of those around him!" Merlin was still in shock. "The true nature of Ominous Nebula... Is through an extreme ultimate state of concentration. He accelerates the darkness within his own body and spirals it around him creating a vortex that pulls in all living things around him with a terrifying force. As if air were suddenly introduced into a vacuum... Any and everything that enters that area will be shredded to ribbons with such blinding speed that even the absolute spinal reflexes of a living organism could not dodge them in time. Simply, to put a name on it, it would be Full React!"

"And what of it?!" Ludociel called out as he darted towards Zeldris. "I have a responsibility... A duty to win this Holy War! As the head of the Four Archangels and as the leader of Stigma!" Hendrickson and Arcadia both watched as the Archangel began to yell louder. "I... I've sacrificed everything to accomplish that! Love... Friendship... Everything! I simply cannot comprehend you despicable demons!"

As Ludociel lost his cool, Zeldris swung his sword at him, however, it didn't hit him. Gilthunder jumped in the way to protect Margaret's body.

"GILTHUNDER!" Hendrickson screamed out in horror as he watched the man and Ludociel get thrown flying backward. Arcadia instantly went after them.

"... All that's left are you." Zeldris turned his attention to Escanor and Merlin.

"Please... Just hand in there for one more minute." Escanor muttered to the woman in his arms.

"Alright... I'm done making mistakes, too." She then teleported herself while Escanor made his move.

"You're able to walk freely, completely unaffected by my Ominous nebula?! Are you some kind of monster?!"

"Be it Meliodas or Estarossa... It seems all you brothers are just dying to get the crap pounded out of you by me... The time has come." Escanor stated with a huge smile on his face.

"You defeated Meliodas? If this is really the truth, then he did not fight seriously. Since he's too damn strong, he developed the bad habit of misjudging the opponents' power, even if it's supposed to be his job. But I'm different. Despite the opponent being a Lion, or an insect, I always... Use my full power!"

"What a joke." Escanor then swung Rhitta down on Zeldris. The short demon was able to repel the attack. The man, slightly bruised, ditched his weapon and went after Zeldris one-handed.

"I would drop my weapon and beg for my life if I were you, but it seems like you won't do that."

"He used his hand as a sword?! Really?!" One of the demons yelled out horrified. "No creature is able to oppose Lord Zeldris's Ominous Nebula when it's within its area of operation... How a mere human being can have such power?!"

"Yes! That is a grace! Our sworn enemy grace, one of the four archangels, Mael the Sun! Probably... after Mael died, the grace was lost... A lot of time has passed and the grace dwelled within that human's body!"

"What's that supposed to mean, Chandler?!"

"I can't understand... This is a long-standing fight between the demons clan and the goddess clan. Why you, a human being, is fighting risking your own life?" Zeldris questioned as he withstood Escanor's attack.

"Everything is for the sake of my friends!" Escanor roared back loudly.

"Escanor..." Merlin muttered as she watched the events happening in front of her.

"You called the cold-hearted Meliodas a friend? Don't make me laugh!" Zeldris yelled out annoyed. "He is not a man capable of such boring feelings!" The two of them pushed at each other when suddenly everything came to a stop. "Guh..."

"T-This... Zeldris's force field disappeared?" Hendrickson questioned as he landed on the ground safely.

"Good job, Escanor."

"You will not escape," Escanor growled out as Zeldris jumped away from Escanor. So, the man poked Zeldris's chest causing an injury, finally.

"Lord Zeldris!" Cusack yelled out horrified.

"Be pierced..." The Escanor turned back into his de-powered self. "Huh?"

"Sir Escanor's form..." Hendrickson was shocked as Merlin was smiling.

"You did it."

as Zeldris fell backward, he got ready to attack again, but Ludociel took this as his moment to attack.

"Your doom was blinking before me." Zeldris was hit hard by Ludociel, as Hendrickson ran over to Gilthunder and Arcadia, who was healing him as best as she could, which wasn't much. Everyone knew this would be a turning point, they just hoped that things would go their way after this.


	15. Shock

Chapter 15 - Shock

"Stop!" Ludociel yelled out as he made a sword with his hand. He moved to attack Zeldris yet again but was stopped by Cusack. The demon then attacked Ludociel, but he dodged the attack simply.

Meanwhile, Hendrickson had Gilthunder in his arms and he was freaking out.

"Gil... Gil! Hang on!" Hendrickson yelled out as he tried to heal the man.

"The wound is deep and too dangerous..." Merlin muttered to the man.

"Hendy, be calm." Escanor tried to the man but Hendrickson ignored him.

"My healing does not work... then..." Hendrickson then turned to Ludociel. "Lord Ludociel! Please save Gil!"

"This is bad, but I don't have time right now," Ludociel responded as he fought with the demon.

"Did you stop, Ludociel?! In other words, I only need to take care of the little girls and the rest of the trash!" Chandler yelled out as he approached the group.

"Lord Zeldris... Please have some rest and let us take care of things from now on..."

"Yes... I'm counting on you... Do not let anything disturb Meliodas! Cusack, show me your abilities... Show me the power of the strongest demons... strongest even than the Ten Commandments..."

"As you wish... But don't forget... That you are destined to surpass me."

"What are you talk-"

"Already finished saying goodbye?" Ludociel questioned interrupting Zeldris.

"Rubbish."

"Lady Merlin... The high-level demons are really that powerful?" Escanor directed his question to the woman.

"Chandler and Cusack are considered the oldest demons... As mentors of Meliodas and the others, they always had a high position in the demon world. I heard that they rarely fought during the sacred war... There are still many mysteries around them." Merlin explained simply. Meanwhile, Arcadia was focusing on Hendrickson.

"Hendrickson... You can't heal him, so just save your energy." The woman spoke to the white-haired man.

"I can't just let him die!"

"I know... I'm sorry I can't help..." Arcadia sadly turned her attention away from Hendrickson to watch Merlin attack the demon coming at her.

"Exterminate Ray." The demon repeated before using the same attack, but stronger.

"T-The same magic of Lady Merlin?! But Gigantic!" Escanor yelled out terrified now. The demon's attack collided with Merlin's.

"Is this attack going to surpass Lady Merlin's magic power?" Hendrickson questioned as he protectively held Gilthunder to his chest.

"Escanor! Use this opening to run beneath the sacred treasure!" Merlin yelled out to the man.

"H-Huh?" Escanor freaked out a little bit. "Impossible, impossible, impossible!" Merlin then used more power causing a huge blast.

"It hit!" Hendrickson yelled out shocked as he kept keeping Gilthunder safe. Arcadia just stood in front of them protecting both Gilthunder and Hendrickson.

"A-As expected! Against Lady Merlin's infinity, not even the strongest demons can't do anything! So now, running beneath Rhitta." Escanor muttered to himself. Suddenly, Ludociel came flying at Escanor making the man screech and avoid the Archangel. Ludociel was all bloody and Margaret's clothes were all torn up.

"Merlin! What happened to those two?! It's like nothing is working! Is this their magic power?!" Ludociel yelled out to the woman.

"No... it seems they sealed their original power for some reason... Even so, they are still considered the strongest demons, excluding the demon king himself. So the answer is simple... They are extremely strong, extremely fast and extremely tough." Merlin explained to the Archangel.

"They don't have any weaknesses?!" Escanor yelled out as he shook with fear.

"Honestly speaking... Since they don't have any weaknesses... Then let's create some."

"Since we don't have weaknesses, you will create them?! Stop getting carried away when you aren't even able to scratch us, little girl!" Chandler yelled to Merlin.

"Merlin... Stop bluffing to your companions!" Ludociel demanded angrily. Suddenly, both demons were hit by attacks that came out of nowhere.

"Where did this attack come from?! Merlin did not show any behavior during it." Zeldris yelled out surprised at what had happened. The woman just smirked.

"What... The damage is even higher?" Cusack muttered as he looked at his wounds.

"It can't be! That tiny attack?!" Chandler growled annoyed.

"Double Impact. I released it after the start of the battle... Don't you remember the magic that made you disappointed?" Merlin questioned with a smirk on her face.

"What?!"

"Wasn't that a magic attack?" Cusack questioned next.

"Double Impact combines the magic attributes of the four elements and multiplies them... I discovered the attributes which you have less resistance against. Chandler's is thunder and Cusack's is wind. Also, Second Wave is a weakening spell that reduces significantly the target resistance. Besides, my infinity magic power keeps decreasing your resistance every time I attack." Merlin explained calmly.

"She's scary," Hendrickson commented with a smirk on his face. Arcadia just nodded her head in agreement.

"The Pacifier..." Cusack began looking over to the other demon.

"It's worth trying!" The demon went to do something, only to be hit with another blast.

"It can't be! Where these attacks are coming from..." Just then another attack hit Cusack.

"Now, within this space, countless and untraceable thunder and wind magic powers are dancing and reacting instantaneously to every move and magic invocation you make. And they will keep being created thanks to my magic power. Until you die." More attacks began to hit the demons as everyone watched.

"W-What kind of bizarre magic is this?!" Ludociel questioned a little concerned.

"I don't understand it very well myself. But I multiplied transparency, untraceable, automatic seeing and infinity into two types of magic attributes."

"E-Even so, when did you think about all that?" Escanor questioned as he finally stopped shaking.

"What... When I was using teleport to escape from Ominous Nebula." Meanwhile, Hendrickson's attention was drawn back to Gilthunder by the man coughing up blood.

"Lord Ludociel, please use your healing miracle on Gilthunder. He served as a shield to protect you..." Hendrickson tried to beg to the Archangel. Ludociel just turned to him coldly.

"It wasn't exactly to protect me, right? Besides, at the moment I need to save all the magic power I can."

"Ludociel, he might die if you do nothing," Arcadia muttered to the man.

"Be silent."

"But..."

"Do you wish to die? You've done nothing here, so you are worthless to me. I can kill you or sacrifice you if I so choose." Arcadia was a bit a taken back by the man's words, but just glared at him.

"I told you, the only reason I'm here is to make sure Hendrickson doesn't die. I couldn't care less if you die or not."

"How about you heal Gilthunder?"

"You know I can't..."

"Pathetic." Ludociel then turned back to the battle and moved to attack Zeldris, who'd gotten back involved with the fight. The demon was knocked down surprisingly. Which caused Ludociel to just begin laughing.

"Uncle Zeldris..." Arcadia muttered worriedly. "What a psychopath..."

"I won! I put an end to the everlasting sacred war! We won!" The man then seemed to be consumed by something and put his hands on Margaret's head. He then fell to the ground and began screaming.

"Lord Ludociel?" Hendrickson questioned before Gilthunder coughed up some more blood. "Gil! Hang in there!" He began healing the man once again. Finally, though, it seemed like it worked and Gilthunder woke up.

"Hendrickson! Why are you healing me while leaving your own wounds uncared for?! Arcadia why haven't you healed him?!" Gilthunder practically yelled out as he watched the white-haired man panting for breath as he bled.

"It's... fine... don't worry about me..." Hendrickson gasped out as Arcadia just turned away from them. She was having a bad headache now so she had to focus on trying to heal her own self. Plus, she felt like Hendrickson was being an ass to her, so she was being spiteful by not healing him.

"It seems fortune has taken our side." The demons spoke as they all stood back up.

"Have they already recovered?!" Merlin was shocked at this.

"Don't make light of the recovery power of a top class demon!" Chandler yelled out before he and the other demon began to feel pain.

"Don't shout so loud! It's pounding in my head... It's like I'm hungover... Though it looks like some of them are suffering even worse than we are, but what would you expect?" The other demon stated with a pain filled smirk.

"Margaret... are you okay?" Gilthunder questioned the clearly in pain Ludociel.

"What have you done to Lord Ludociel?" Hendrickson demanded as he approached Ludociel with Gilthunder. Arcadia was now sitting on her knees as well as her headache began to overpower her. "Arcadia?!"

"This isn't their doing... The source... is likely my master, Gowther... He used a dark magic to alter the memories of everyone that knew Mael of the Four Archangels... Even the demon king himself!" Merlin explained.

"Lady Merlin... what are you saying?"

"That uneasy feeling I always had around Estarossa... Now that I, at last, know what it is, it's like I've finally cleared my throat of something that was blocking it... To think that you manufactured Mael into Estarossa to get the goddess clan to invoke the Coffin of Everlasting Darkness... But for some reasons or another, that alternation was undone and the realizations that it brought back in like a shock... and impact right into our very souls. And it seems the closer to Mael someone was, the greater that impact is." As Cusack spoke, Ludociel began to cry. The realization of the situation his Hendrickson hard.

"Estarossa of the Ten Commandments... was Mael of the Four Archangels?!"

"If that's so, then Zeldris... Why..." Merlin questioned confused a little bit.

"Why have I not received any notable shock? What a dumb question." Zeldris began as he explained the situation. "Because for what it's worth, I never once looked up to Estarossa as a brother. Now that finding out he wasn't really my brother, I'm actually quite relieved. Now then, let's move on to round two..."

"No... leave this to us." Cusack stated to the short man.

"What?"

"Indeed, with Ludociel in that state, at a glace it seems out situation has changed for the better... But meanwhile, Escanor has also recovered and most importantly, that sorceress's true power is seemingly bottomless. Factor in your niece..."

"So now of all times, what reason is there for you two to fight alone...?"

"They still have their allies, the Seven Deadly Sins. We wish for you, Master Zeldris, to preserve your strength for when they inevitably attack. Which is why we shall take responsibility for the foes before us now."

"This is something we must do," Chandler stated.

"This is our duty..." Cusack agreed. They then crossed the staffs they have and began to glow. It shocked everyone watching. "Once, long ago, in order for the demon king to rule over the underworld, he created one certain demon. Naming it the Original Demon, the demon king granted it his power as his most trusted retainer. But the sinful demon of origin took great hubris in his own strength... and started a rebellion to take the demon king's throne for his own."

"This magic power... It's..." Merlin gasped in shock.

"Oh no..." Arcadia gasped as well. She instantly stepped in front of Hendrickson and Gilthunder with her sword out. It was the first time she'd pulled it out during the whole time.

"Of course, after overtaking the demon, it received a great and dire punishment. Its body and soul was torn into two, and it was given an important duty. They were to be instructors to the two princes and to raise them to be candidates for the next demon king." Cusack continued explaining.

"Cusack! Chandler... Just what in the world are you two?!" Zeldris yelled out as he watched the two begin to combine.

"Master Zeldris... this is my request to you. Young Master Meliodas... You must become demon king." Then a painfully bright light was emitted from the two demons causing everyone to shield their eyes. The bright light actually popped the ball of darkness around them all. The force was enough to blow the humans away. However, Arcadia grabbed Hendrickson and Gilthunder to protect them with her wings.

"Impossible! They dispersed the dark domain created by Meliodas and the Commandments?!" Escanor questioned as he held Merlin.

"That... Is their original form?" Merlin questioned as the dust and light began to die down.

"I am the Sinner... The Original Demon." The now one demon stated, much to the shock of everyone.

"As of now, we've just completely lost all chance of victory!"

Instantly, the fight began. Arcadia just hovered over the two humans and Ludociel protectively. Escanor was the one who began to attack, leaving everyone else to just watch. Their attacks were bright and powerful, sending Escanor backward and bloody.

"How unfortunate for you. Even at your peak at his high noon, this is all you've got..." The demon stated with a smile on his face.

"Hmph! Funny, you seem to actually need to try and defend against what I've got." Escanor responded as he continued to fight back.

"Our only option now is to hope King and the others reconvene with us soon... We've got to try to hold out until then!" Merlin yelled out to the injured man.

"Hmph... We're more than enough to take an opponent like that out!"

"Don't try to act brave. Your death is already certain. Besides... Nobody will make it in time to save you" Merlin then tried her hand at attacking, but was hit back and sent flying before landing with a crash. That sent Escanor into a rage, only to be kicked backward. "That's one down... Hmm? What's that massive presence soaring in from far off?" His question was answered by King's weapon colliding with the demon's shield, shocking everyone.

"This is... King's Spirit Spear Chastiefol?!" Merlin questioned in shock.

"But where is King?" Escanor asked as he coughed up blood.

"It's possible he controlled it remotely for a long-distance attack. So his powers as the Fairy King have awoken completely. That's impressive growth."

"The Seven Deadly Sins... I can't determine their distance for sure, but I'm sensing multiple enormous magic energies from the north with their sights on this location." Zeldris muttered to himself. "...This is..."

The Spirit Spear was then cut in a few places by the demon, surprising those watching. It then changes into the fourth form and attacks the demon once again. Merlin got herself and Escanor out of there instantly.

"What incredible power!" Merlin states as they transport away.

"He's cocky..." Escanor responds simply. They then realize that the attack had been candled out by Zeldris.

"Original Demon. I'll take care of this guy. Focus your energies on putting down Escanor and Merlin!" Zeldris tells the demon behind him.

Meanwhile, Hendrickson, Gilthunder, and Arcadia were watching the fight from above. Arcadia was twitchy and wanted to join the fight but knew that she couldn't do anything but protect the humans and Ludociel. She was still affected by the truth. Her "uncle" was actually someone who'd tried to kill her once and it shocked her. Just not as much as Ludociel.

"What a fight..." Gilthunder stated in awe as he held Margaret's body.

"It's only a matter of time before we're pulled into it too," Hendrickson responded. He then turned to the other man. "Gilthunder, you have to get away while you still can!"

"Wha...?! N...Never! I'd never run away and abandon Margaret in this situation!" Hendrickson then looked down at the still sobbing Ludociel.

"Oh... Oh, god... Mael was alive... I thought for sure there was no way... he could be killed by impure demons..." Ludociel then pulled himself up and threw himself at Hendrickson, grabbing a hold of his chest. "Hendrickson... Take me to Mael."

"Lord Ludociel..." Hendrickson muttered to the sobbing Archangel.

"For the love of god! I'm so shocked, I can't fly... or even walk. Heh... Pathetic, right? You can go ahead and laugh, just... Please do this for me."

"You poor thing." Hendrickson then lifted his hand to the side of Margaret's face. Then, shocking those there, he used purge.

"Ah... gah!" Ludociel yelled out, in complete shock. Hendrickson yelled out as well as he used all his magical power to push out the Archangel. Thankfully, it worked and Margaret's body fell backward, safely into Gilthunder's arms. Hendrickson was left panting so Arcadia rushed to his side. They then turned to see Ludociel's true form.

"A...A man with wings? Did you... split him from Margaret's body? Then this is... the real form of Ludociel of the Four Archangels?"

"...Yes." Hendrickson responded as he caught his breath. "Purge doesn't only expel evil. It can also get rid of impurities in sludge to return it to fresh, clear water. If he hadn't been so weakened, I wouldn't have been able to do it. And if I'd messed up, he probably would be too on his guard to ever let me come near again."

"Hendrickson... Was this your intention from the very start?" Gilthunder questioned, shocked.

"It was a gamble, but it all worked out. Now, Gilthunder, take Princess Margaret with you and get away from here."

"What are you two going to do?!"

"I... have committed too many crimes. I'll stay behind. Besides, I can't leave hi, here like this." Hendrickson then smiled at Gilthunder. "Your father's last words to me were... 'I'll always watch over you.' Now go!" Gilthunder then listened to the man, while tears fell from his eyes. The man used his lightning power to escape.

"Hendy..." Arcadia hesitantly spoke as she put a hand on his arm. The man turned to her and smiled.

"I'm sorry I acted so cold towards you, my love." Their moment was interrupted by Ludociel waking up.

"Hendrickson! How dare you... You tricked me!" Ludociel yelled angrily as he got back up to his feet.

"I'm ready for whatever you want to do." Hendrickson turned to the man and put a hand to his chest. "Please make me your vessel. Use up this soul and life. I'm not afraid of death. So you should be able to use your strength to your heart's content. Farewell, Arcadia, Dreyfus."


	16. Backup

Chapter 16 – Backup

Before Ludociel could do anything to Hendrickson, more stuff had gone down with the other group. The remaining commandments made it to the cocoon. While Merlin was trying to stop the time of it so Meliodas didn't awaken.

"Looks like it's all over," Ludociel commented as he watched what was happening.

"No! Lady Merlin... will surely manage something." Hendrickson argued instantly.

"...To be honest, I'm surprised that woman is even capable of stopping time. But it seems as though she'll be killed before she can complete the spell. Escanor no longer has enough strength within him to stop the Original Demon, and the wielder of the Spirit Spear is quite skilled to be able to control it from such a distance... but to stop not one, but two monsters' attacks in that manner would be next to impossible. And if Meliodas awakens as the demon king, then our fates will be sealed. Defeat will be certain. Without the Supreme Deity now, there is no longer any means to fight against the demon king's power."

"Lord Ludociel! Are you truly that weak... that cowardly?! Even 3,000 years ago, it was the goddess clan who led the humans... encouraged and guided them through the hardest and most dire of times... That's why I was always told."

"...That's right... The humans revered us, put their faith in us almost blindly... I had lost my head in that situation. Ludociel of the Four Archangels. Arrogant, conceited, overconfident, thinking of others as nothing but his own pawns to use. But everything I did was in order to claim victory in the Holy war! Even if it would cause people like you to turn their backs on me and leave my side!" Hendrickson then looked down to the ground.

"No matter what the cost, I just had to save those two... As atonement... for meddling with their fate..."

"Hmph... To think that even I would fall this low... That upon finding that there was still someone that revered me in this way... That I would be this elated and ecstatic like a little child..." Hendrickson then lost his balance and fell to the ground. Ludociel hesitantly turned to look at him. Arcadia instantly was at his side, crouching down with him.

"Even now... I still respect and admire you."

"Enough of this! You won't fool me again!" Ludociel turned away from the injured man, while Hendrickson just smiled up at him.

"To the Druids... the goddess clan were out doctrine... our very dogma. After all, you were earnestly and fervently doing your best to guide us to victory, were you not?"

"Hendrickson..."

"But... To be honest, I was also disappointed... Indeed, just as you said, you did treat Gil and Margaret rather poorly... So when you learned your younger brother was still alive and fell into a state of confusion and shock... I just couldn't help myself from laughing at you."

"Y...You bastard! Honest or not, you're going a bit too far!"

"But that's why I started liking you even more!" Hendrickson smiled brightly up at the man, causing Arcadia's heart to skip. "After realizing that you're not perfect either... That you're just like us..."

"Err... Just so we're clear, I'm not into dudes." Arcadia burst out into laughter instantly.

"Don't worry! I'm not, either!"

"You better not be!" Arcadia muttered as she laughed at the situation.

"Anyways, hurry... Take me... Please use me as your vessel. This is a request, not as a druid that worships you, but as a friend..."

"Prepare yourself..." Arcadia tensed up and glared up at the Archangel. He just reached out a hand, and surprisingly healed Hendrickson completely. "You never worry about yourself... Instead always passionately looking after others, putting your life on the line for them... You damned simple, naive, gentle-hearted fool..."

"Lord Ludociel? J...Just now... You told me to prepare myself...?"

"Who do you think you are, anyway? Think you're pretty amazing, huh? Well, using the likes of you for my vessel, I'd hardly be able to use my powers properly... Once... I had a friend... Just like you. He was simple-minded, caring and naive... An idiot of a man who threw his life away to protect another..." Ludociel then turned to look at the man. "...Don't you die, Hendrickson. Arcadia, you as well. Protect each other and live, together." With that, the Archangel flew off, leaving the couple behind.

"...Hendrickson..." Arcadia began as the two of them stood up and looked at each other. She was shaking and tears began to flow from her eyes.

"Arcadia?" Hendrickson was instantly worried for his lover.

"I thought I was going to lose you! Is this how you felt those times I almost died?! It's not fun! Don't ever do that again! You aren't allowed to leave me behind!" Arcadia threw herself into Hendrickson's arms, shocking him slightly. He wrapped his arms around the woman for a few moments, but then pulled back to press his lips to hers. The girl couldn't help but smile against his lips as they kissed before pulling away.

"I love you, Arcadia."

"I love you, as well, Hendrickson." The two smiled at each other, and then they turned their attention to the fight below them. They were just in time to see Escanor get sent flying backward by the Original Demon. He was hit so hard that it caused him to turn back into his small form.

"ESCANOR!" Merlin yelled out as she watched the man get attacked by the demon again.

"Now... die!" However, the attack was stopped by someone.

"Hurry and finish the incantation! I can't guarantee how long I'm going to be able to hold out in this spirit form without a vessel... But I can at least manage to keep him at bay for a while!" It was Ludociel who'd appeared in front of the girl, stopping the demon from hitting her.

While Merlin continued her incantation, Ludociel held off the demon while Zeldris fought the Spirit Spear.

"I'll show you the power of the leader of the Four Archangels," Ludociel spoke cockily as he attacked the demon in front of him. He actually managed to harm the demon, surprising Hendrickson.

"Whoa... He injured that monster when not even Sir Escanor could!" Hendrickson gasped out to his lover as they both watched. They watched as the demon went to attack Ludociel back.

"Futile. Don't make me laugh." The Archangel smirked as he tried to counter the attack, only for it to be stronger than before. "How could that move... suddenly get stronger?" It had actually pushed him backward. The Original Demon smiled at the situation. "Wipe that smirk off your face!" Ludociel returned the attack but was hit again, harder this time, knocking Ludociel backward into Merlin, knocking the woman over. "I'm sorry... Merlin! It makes no sense... He's supposed to be taking on more and more damage. And yet how is it that his energy output keeps increasing?"

"Ludociel! It's dangerous to launch any more attacks against him!"

"I knew you'd eventually catch on. That's right. This is my true magic. The more my life is shaved away, the more my power grows in proportion. It's called Crisis. And as punishment for going against my crime and returning to my original form, this flesh and bone are welcoming its imminent destruction."

"Hmph. So it's a contest of stamina. Either you'll break down or we'll die." Ludociel noted just as the demon began to dart at him.

"If it means welcoming the birth of a new demon king, I will gladly sacrifice this life to the cause!"

"Lord Ludociel!" Hendrickson yelled out, horrified at the situation. Thankfully though, a bright light came through the clouds and shined down upon the demons, Ludociel and Merlin.

"My spell of darkness...!"

"What in the..." Zeldris commented confused.

"A beam of sunlight is piercing through the night?" Hendrickson questioned as he looked up at the opening in the clouds.

"O false veil! Vanish before my Grace!"

"The darkness and clouds are being blown away!" Hendrickson noted as he watched the situation unfold.

"So you came back, Estarossa. Or should I say... Mael!" Zeldris smirked as he spoke. The Archangel was powering up getting ready to attack.

"Mael! You're alive!" Ludociel called out, smiling up at his brother.

"Brother!" Mael returned looking down at Ludociel.

"What business do you have here at this time? If you've woken up, then you should just turn around and go back to heaven." Zeldris yelled up at the Archangel.

"Some of the responsibility of causing and dragging out the Holy War lays with me... But I did not come here to fight."

"...You're not here to fight?"

"You don't want me to join the attempts to stop Meliodas's transformation into the demon king... If you promise to evacuate your demon armies from Britannia... Then I will not involve myself at all."

"Ah! Hendy!" Escanor yelled out to the white-haired man as he approached.

"Escanor lived. Surprisingly." Arcadia muttered to herself, earning a look from her lover. Their attention was drawn back to where the Original Demon was darting toward Mael. The Archangel sent a sun towards the demon.

"I'll engulf a sun like that like it's nothing!" The demon yelled out as he began to counterattack, however, Mael just enlarged the sun and hit the demon. It caused a huge blast of wind, nearly knocking the humans over.

"Were you trying to intimidate me with that?" Zeldris questioned as he just watched the events unfold. "I'm sure you haven't forgotten... That no matter how powerful it may be, magic attacks do not work on me."

"Yes... Of course, I haven't." Mael responded as he looked down at the demon.

"In that case, this is my answer!" Zeldris then attacked Ludociel and Merlin once again. However, his attack was stopped, not by Ludociel, but my Elizabeth. Her, Diane, King, Escanor and Gowther were now all behind Ludociel, protecting Merlin, along with Hawk.

"This is our will... and our resolve!" Elizabeth yelled out in return to Zeldris. "Merlin! How much longer until the incantation is complete?!"

"Five minutes..." Merlin responded instantly. "In five more minutes, I'll be able to suspend the cocoon's time!"

"You bastards!" Zeldris yelled out but realized that Mael was now behind him. He went to swing his sword but was stopped by the archangel grabbing him, spinning him around and throwing him down to the ground again. As soon as Zeldris landed, he used Ominous Nebula once again.

"Wh...What is this?! My body is getting sucked towards it!" Diane gasped out as she began getting sucked towards Zeldris.

"Th...This is bad!" Escanor yelled out as he clung to Merlin as she kept chanting.

"Mael!" Ludociel yelled out in horror as his brother approached the smirking Zeldris. The demon went to cut the Archangel, but he used his head to melt the demon's sword.

"Zeldris's sword... has melted?!" Diane questioned in shock.

"I see..." Escanor muttered as he watched. "The explosive power of sunshine doesn't just enhance the body on the surface, but seeps into the body as well! With that... He'll be able to hold the attacks of the demon king and Ominous Nebula at bay!"

"If I can hold you off for five minutes, I win. If you can defeat me within five minutes, victory is yours." Mael tells Zeldris as he looks down at the demon. The two then began to fight. As they fought, Hendrickson turned to Arcadia.

"We need to get down there. We need to help." Hendrickson tells his lover.

"Fine. Just this once, I'll fight with my mother." Arcadia grumbles out, clearly not happy about the situation.

"May I ask, what is the issue between you and your mother?" That caused Arcadia to pause.

"Well, I was raised by demons. So, of course, I wouldn't have much of a relationship with my mother." With that, Arcadia grabbed Hendrickson and flew him down to where Escanor is. She clearly didn't wish to talk about it any further.

"Are you all alright?" Hendrickson asks as soon as he lands with Arcadia right by his side.

"Are you alright, Hendy?" Escanor responds instantly.

"Perfect... I've gotten through 3 minutes!" Merlin yells out to her group.

"Zeldris... Let's draw this futile battle to a close. Although they may have been false memories... For a moment in time, we were brothers. If we talk things out, I'm sure we can come to an understanding!" Mael spoke to the demon.

"Hmph! I'm sure your former self Estarossa would have gotten a good laugh out of that if he could have heard it." Zeldris smirked before using his darkness to create a new sword for himself.

"Zeldris..." The Archangel lifted his hands and used his light to make weapons. The two then resumed fighting.

"Two more minutes!" Merlin yelled out suddenly.

"You seem to be panicking... quite unlike your cold, stoic self. Do you want to win the Holy War so badly that you would even have Meliodas become the demon king?" Mael then sent Zeldris backward. "Are you truly okay with your one and only brother in this world... becoming a being like that?"

"You can say whatever you want! But my brother... Meliodas was the one that wanted this! Though I did as well!" Zeldris yelled out as he began to attack Mael, stronger than before. "So... Just stay out of our way!"

"Mael!" Ludociel screamed out in horror.

"...Just one more minute!" Zeldris then began to scream as he fought with Mael and everyone else.

"Protect Merlin." Someone yelled out horrified.

"We're gonna be turned to swiss cheese!" Hawk screamed out as he dodged the attacks. However, King put up a protective shield around the whole group.

"King!" Diane yelled out happily.

"Give it up already... You've no chance of winning." King informed Zeldris calmly.

"GOD DAMMIT ALL!" Zeldris screamed out as he began to attack some more.

"He's completely lost himself into desperation!" Hawk spoke happily.

"Zeldris..." Elizabeth muttered in horror as she watched the demon.

"Uncle..." Arcadia mumbled as she approached the woman. The two looked at each other and then looked back to the screaming demon.

"Just what is it that's backed you this far into a corner? Why are you pushing yourself to this extreme? It's unfortunate." Mael spoke as he cut down Zeldris before flying up.

"Everyone... I owe you my gratitude... You all managed to hold out long enough!" Merlin then was able to cast the spell.

"Has the cocoon's time really stopped?" The pig questioned no one in particular.

"Look, Hawk!" Hendrickson gaped out as he pointed up at something. "The bird has frozen, the rubble as well." As soon as time stopped, Zeldris fell to the ground.

"Uncle!" Arcadia was tempted to run over to him, but she remained standing next to Hendrickson.

"...Though it seemed like an eternity, it was over in an instant." King muttered as he took down his shield.

"Woohoo! The Holy War is over!" Hawk yelled out as he jumped in the air with Diane.

"Well done, Merlin!" Elizabeth spoke to Merlin.

"Can it really be over?" Arcadia questioned to her lover. Hendrickson was just sighing with relief. Before he hugged the girl next to him. They smiled at each other as they hugged. Suddenly, someone ruined their moment by patting Hendrickson on his back.

"Huh?" Hendrickson and Arcadia turned around to see Elizabeth standing there.

"Hendrickson... I'm so grateful for what you did for my sister and Gil."

"Lady Elizabeth, how do you know about that?"

"King was watching with this Spirit Spear the whole time..."

"King?" Hendrickson looked around, making his lover laugh. She tilted his head towards the waving man. "Oh..."

"King has changed, hasn't he," Arcadia questioned with a laugh.

"Arcadia, may I speak with you?" Elizabeth hadn't walked away and gently took her daughter's hand. The girl just nodded her head but stayed put.

"Anything you have to say, you say in front of Hendrickson."

"I know you're worried about Zeldris, but he'll be just fine. That's all I wanted to say. I know you wanted to go to him."

"I'm worried about you as well, mother. I know your curse will take effect soon, right?"

"Don't worry about me." With a smile, Elizabeth turned her attention to Hawk, who was now flying up to the cocoon.

"The cocoon is empty..." Hawk stated, shocking everyone there. Suddenly, everyone began to feel a presence behind Elizabeth.

"Meliodas... is that you..." The girl asked, hesitantly. Then, Zeldris's laughter could be heard.

"... You'd better keep your promise... Demon King."


	17. Demon King

Chapter 17 – Demon King

"Meliodas? Is that you?" Elizabeth questions yet again this time as she turns around to face the demon behind her.

"I applaud your effort, Elizabeth. You've tried very hard. The same goes for you too, the Seven Deadly Sins. That rare beast and my granddaughter as well."

"You are not Meliodas. Who are you?" At Elizabeth's words, everyone got on edge.

"Meliodas... I've fulfilled my part of the promise... Now do yours! Tell...me...where...Gelda...is..." Zeldris was struggling to sit up to look at the man.

"Zeldris. Are you still in love with that vampire woman? What a failure. Just like your brother, Meliodas." Those words from the man who was not Meliodas seemed to shock the short black-haired man.

"This tone of voice... This is not the captain!" Diane gasped out as she looked at King.

"He would've never called me a rare beast!" Hawk chimed in as he flew over the giant.

"He called me his granddaughter... That means..." Arcadia muttered as she stepped in front of Hendrickson.

"It seems that we meet again..." Elizabeth spoke as she went on edge.

"Sister... This is bad..." Merlin spoke to the young girl.

"It seems like we have no choice..." Ludociel spoke to his younger brother.

"This can't be... Why... are you in Meliodas's body?!" Zeldris gasped out as he finally stood up. "Father! What's going on?! You told me that Meliodas was supposed to be the next demon king!"

"Did you really expect me to give my throne to a traitor? All I really wanted was a new and more powerful body. The Ten Commandments are fragments of my own power and absorbing them will not only make you stronger... But you will also become my new vessel." The man then appeared in the middle of the Seven Deadly Sins, putting everyone on guard.

"Get out of his body right now!" Elizabeth yelled out angrily.

"What a disgrace of a father! How could you possibly do something like that to your own son?!" Hawk screamed out next just as angry as Elizabeth.

"Why? You ask? Hmm... To not waste his true potential, I suppose." The Demon King responded simply with his arms crossed.

"What?"

"Oh yeah! I was just remembered of a good idea! Elizabeth, I'm going to free you from the curse I've bestowed you with!"

"What are you talking about? As if you would really remove that curse from Elizabeth! You really suck at lying!" The pig yelled out as he flapped his wings angrily.

"But after that... I will kill you in the most brutal way possible. I wonder what his face will look like this time. When he seems your lifeless corpse. Maybe he will become so distressed that he'll shortly join you in the afterlife. Or maybe he will finally be relieved to not be burdened by you anymore. The first scenario would be the best one. Wouldn't you agree?" The Demon King then moved to attack Elizabeth, but she was saved by Gowther who'd moved towards Escanor and Merlin.

"Hendy, Arcadia, come here quick!" Escanor yelled out motioning for the two lovers. Quickly, Arcadia shoved Hendrickson towards Escanor but left herself alone.

"Arcadia!" Hendrickson called out to his lover as Perfect Cube surrounded himself, Merlin, Elizabeth, Gowther, and Escanor. Hawk instantly started running towards the group.

"Make some space for me too!" Hawk was then shoved into his own Perfect Cube but was stuffed in there. "Better than nothing I guess."

"King! Diane! If I remember correctly... Magical attacks do not affect the Demon King! Be careful!" Merlin called out to the two of them.

"Okay!" Both King and Diane yelled out in unison.

"I will also lend a hand. Are you coming, Arcadia?" Mael stated as he darted forward.

"Yes, sir!" Arcadia responded, with her sword in hand as she followed the Archangel.

"We will protect Elizabeth at any cost!" Diane yelled out as she hit the Demon King repeatedly.

"We will not let you have your way with the Captain's body!" King was next to yell out as he used his spear to attack next. Mael and Arcadia were next, combining their attacks together. His fists with Arcadia's sword.

"Impossible... He completely parried all our attacks?! He's unscathed!" Mael spoke, surprised, however, before anyone else could say anything, the Demon King returned all their attacks. Even the Perfect Cubes were shattered. However, one person remained untouched. It was Arcadia. She was completely fine as the Demon King had avoided hitting her.

"Resistance is futile. Now then, allow me to end your suffering once and for all. And my granddaughter, Arcadia, is your name correct?"

"Yes...?"

"Join me."

"I might have been raised by demons, but that doesn't mean I'll join you. I can't."

"I see." Not bothering to stop the girl, Arcadia made her way to Hendrickson's side. "Fallen in love with a human... Such a pity. How pathetic."

"Oy! Demon King!" Attention was turned to Hawk who was still in his little Perfect Cube. "If you intend on hurting Elizabeth, then you'll have to get past me! The Captain of Scraps Disposal! I, King of Leftovers shall be your opponent! Do you know what happens when the King of Leftovers gets serious? I'll beat you into a pulp!"

"Hawk no! Don't provoke him!" Elizabeth screamed out in fear.

"Hey! Coward! Do you hear me?!"

"Is that pig stupid?!" Ludociel asked next just as horrified as Elizabeth.

"Hmph." The Demon King just smiled at the pig and then attacked him, lifting his bloodied body up with his power. "What an irritating species of beast. I will send you directly to your brother right now."

"Stop! Don't kill him!" Elizabeth screamed out as tears began to flow down her face. However, just as the Demon King went to kill the pig, Hawk was gone. Suddenly, there was another person there next to the Demon King who was now holding the pig.

"Captain, do you hear me?"

"So you made it back..." Merlin muttered as she laid on the ground in pain.

"I... always knew you could do it..."

"Yes..." Diane muttered as she smiled on the ground.

"This guy... He's..." Mael mumbled in shock.

"The fox sin of greed," Hendrickson spoke, smiling.

"Hang in there. I swear I'll get this old fart out of your body!" Ban spoke down to the Demon King.

"You said you're going to drive me, the Demon King, out? You?! All by yourself?! How do you expect to do that?!" The Demon King returned with a smile on his face.

"Ban... You... came for us... You really did..." Hawk choked out as he cried.

"...Always pushing yourself too far, aren't cha?" Ban then threw the pig backward. "Take care of Master for me!" Hawk was caught by Gowther, who nearly fell over in the process.

"Ban! No matter how immortal you are, there's nothing you can do against him all on your own!" King yelled at his friend in fear.

"Ah, about that... Unfortunately, I'm not immortal anymore. I brought Elaine back to life. Which completely used up my fountain of youth power." Ban sang back in response much to the shock of the fairy. "Now then, shall we get to driving you out?"

"You foolish boy, you... THIS IS THE POWER OF A GOD!" Suddenly, a whirlwind type attack began to flow all around, causing everyone to have trouble staying up on their feet. Everything continued to swirl until they were all closed inside of King's protective circle. Mael and Ludociel had their own protection.

"Elizabeth... Elizabeth!" Diane called out worriedly to her friend.

"Diane! Is everyone alright?" Elizabeth questioned as she turned to look at her friend.

"Mael and the others seem fine, but Ban is still on the outside! What should we do?!"

"I...I'm sure he, of all people, will be okay... right?" Escanor questioned as he held Merlin in his arms. While Escanor held his love, Arcadia was tending to Hendrickson.

"Are you alright?" The girl questioned her lover. He'd gotten a little banged up in the wind.

"I am fine, are you okay?" He returned as he looked over the girl. She just smiled at him and nodded her head.

"You keep protecting me when it's my job to protect you." Before Hendrickson could respond, the storm died down.

"Why did the storm suddenly stop?" Ludociel questioned out loud, loud enough for the others to hear.

"Brother... Look at that!" Mael yelled out as attention was turned to Ban and the Demon King.

"Impossible! He's going blow for blow against the Demon King, all on his own?!" Sure enough, Ban was landing a few punches, however, so was the Demon King. He was able to knock Ban down to a knee.

"Did you seriously believe you could possibly manage anything against me, all on your own?!" The Demon King shouted at the panting man in front of him. Suddenly, his pain was written across his face and he nearly fell over as Ban stood back up.

"Heh. Moron I'm not on my own." Ban simply responded in turn.

"I... Don't believe it! Ban's attacks had a real effect on him!" Escanor excitedly yelled out.

"Ahh, but that's not all!" Gowther responded.

"This feeling... It's..." Diane muttered to herself.

"There's no mistaking it... From within the Demon King, this presence we're sensing... It's..." Elizabeth mumbled next in shock.

"I... I can't believe it! The Demon King is actually reeling from ban's attacks!" Escanor happily called out before looking at the now conscious Merlin.

"It's not just Ban... The captain is also fighting from within... As expected, he's not the kind of guy that gives up..."

The fighting then began again, this time with Meliodas fighting within the Demon King as well. It almost seemed like Ban was having the upper hand now against the demon. However, the Demon King was landing a few hits of his own as well. With the cracking of the earth around them, the Demon King ended up on the ground.

"What's wrong, Demon King?" Ban sang arrogantly. "Having trouble controlling your son's body as you'd please? Or perhaps you've been rejected by your son? Just so you know, you're nothing compared to the real Meliodas's strength." However, the Demon King just smiled up at Ban and attacked him, lifting him off the ground before punching him right in the abdomen.

"...Don't go getting cocky!" The Demon King responded with a soft smile on his bloodied face.

"He's begun... overtaking Ban?" Diane gasped out horrified.

"How?! Did the Demon King's power increase?!" The now smaller King questioned as Gowther held him up.

"Meliodas, stop! You can't let your own hands wound Ban like this!" Elizabeth yelled out to the man.

"Captain! Can he hear our voices?!" Escanor questioned loudly.

"...Such futile wishes. No matter how loud you scream, your voices will never reach Meliodas." The Demon King responded simply without even turning around.

"That can't be!"

"Everyone! I have a plan!" Gowther suddenly called out to his friends. Gowther then surrounded the Seven Deadly Sins with his power and seemingly transmitted it into Meliodas's heart. That left Mael, Ludociel, Hendrickson, and Arcadia to watch Ban's fight with the Demon King on the outside, while everyone else watched Meliodas fight his father on the inside of Meliodas.

"In that case... I'LL SEVER THE SOURCE OF YOUR POWER!" The Demon King yelled out when he realized what was happening. Instantly, Mael, Ludociel, and Arcadia were standing in front of the group.

"We'll never allow that!" Mael yelled out to the Demon King.

"The likes of you Four Archangels and my granddaughter, dare to raise your swords against a god?!" The Demon King then sent something into the air and after it manifested itself, ban destroyed it before it could do any harm, resulting in him getting attacked. So, the thing lifted itself back up into the sky and powered up for an attack. All the while, Ludociel had begun to fade away.

"It's impossible... there's no way to defend against that!" Mael yelled out horrified as it attacked them. However, it was stopped by Ludociel.

"Enough of this futile struggling."

"Brother!"

"Lord Ludociel..." Hendrickson muttered as he watched his friend disappear further.

"Ludociel!" Arcadia called out in worry. She never liked the guy much, but that doesn't mean she wanted him to disappear just as they were getting along finally.

"I won't lose you ever again... Not my friends, nor my little brother!" Ludociel yelled out protectively.

"In another 5 seconds, there won't be anything left of you!" The Demon King yelled out as he prepared to attack some more.

"I'll stop you before then!" Ban yelled out as he went to attack the Demon King from behind.

"Go ahead and try it!" The demon stopped the attack and was able to make his own attack on Ban as the floating thing attacked the group of friends again.

"Dammit... This is bad... It's taking all my focus just to keep up with him... But at this rate, they'll all be..." However, both Arcadia and Hendrickson noticed another being approaching the situation.

"Someone's silhouette? No... it couldn't be..." Hendrickson muttered out loud to himself. "There's no one apart from Sir Ban that could possibly withstand this bombardment of magic..." The two watched as someone made their move and attacked through the floating thing's magic and cut deep into it.

"...You...But why?" Mael questioned in shock as he held his brother in his arms.

"You?! Zeldris... What is the meaning of this?!" The Demon King yelled out to his other son in horror. The short demon had been the one to save the Seven Deadly Sins and the others.

"I have business with Meliodas. I would request that you back off of this, father. But before that, there's one thing I want to ask you..." Zeldris began as he flew above everyone. "Did you order me to execute the Vampire Clan, knowing full well of my relationship with Gelda?"

"...You are a fool who cannot understand how it feels to be a parent wanting to save their child from a deadly disease..." His father responded lowly.

"What?"

"You are weak. And weakness... is a disease... Just who do you take me for? The commandment I granted you told me all about every last little detail. That you tried to hide it from me as you continued to have your little lovers' rendezvous with that little vampire girl. And that you disobeyed my order, and instead of executing the Vampire Clan, you sealed them away instead... Hoping to one day steal the throne of the Demon King. Not to mention the fact that you actually were sincerely trying to create an underworld where everyone could live in peace and harmony?! Absolutely preposterous! But since it did make you obedient to me, I had been overlooking it all... But that ends now."

The fallen creature then got back up and transformed into something stronger. Zeldris and the creature then began their fight. For the most part, Zeldris was able to defend against all of its attacks, only getting hit once. However, once turned into twice and then more times. Even so, Zeldris then used Ominous Nebula to bring it in close before wiping it out completely.

"I've dealt with that distraction! Now get out of Meliodas's body and get b-" Zeldris was cut off by a magical attack hitting him, cutting him deeply.

"Uncle!" Arcadia cried out in horror as the man began falling from the sky. She wanted to run after him, right then, but she was too afraid, so she just watched as the man fell and as the Demon King smirked at his injured son.


	18. Flashback

Chapter 18 – Flashback

After leaving Liones, Hendrickson, Griamore, and Arcadia descended on a new journey. They traveled around a bit, going from village to another village taking care of their demon problems. However, today was not one of those days. This particular day was a peaceful one.

The group was slightly lost in a forest. It was still peaceful though. They didn't have any demons to fight for once in a while and the air around them was cool and not too hot.

"Arc? Do you have any idea where we are?" Griamore questioned the girl, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"No clue, but it's nice, right? I'm sure we'll find out way out of here eventually." Arcadia responds with a smile on her face. She was currently holding the boy. Hendrickson was walking a little bit ahead of them. He was on edge. It seemed like he was sensing something, well he was actually sensing nothing at all, which was what the problem was. The forest around them was cutting off his senses, and they were doing the same to Arcadia.

"You shouldn't be so at peace with this, Arcadia. We are lost." Hendrickson partly scolded the girl.

"As I said, Hendy, we'll get out of here eventually." As the girl said that, the little group had come to an opening in the trees. "Or, maybe we'll find a place to stay for the night?" In front of them in the middle of the clearing, was a little house. It had the words "Forest Inn" written above its front door.

"That place looks scary!" Griamore cried out as he got closer, if possible, to the girl.

"Let's go over there. Maybe there's someone inside who can point us in the right direction." Arcadia then began to walk over to the inn. She was stopped by Hendrickson grabbing a hold of her arm.

"Wait, let me. Stay here with Griamore." With those words, Hendrickson made his way to the door and knocked. Arcadia pouted to herself, while Griamore sighed a breath of relief. After that, the two turned their attention to Hendrickson once again. He'd knocked and was now waiting for the door to open. They could sense enough to know someone was in there.

It took a few more knocks, but eventually, the door opened up. There stood an older woman with gray hair. For a moment, Arcadia assumed the woman was a witch with how she looked and due to the fact they were in the middle of a forest.

"Hello there, young man. Are you and your companions looking for a place to stay tonight?" The old woman questioned as she smiled up at the slightly taller man.

"Yes!" Arcadia called out as she approached with Griamore. "We would love a place to stay tonight, however, we are also lost in this forest."

"Oh, I see. Well, tomorrow I can give you a map to get out of here. Tonight, you may stay here. It seems like you all could use a nice comfy place to stay."

"Thank you very much, ma'am." Arcadia smiled at the woman and began to follow her into the house. The house was bigger on the inside than on the outside.

"Other than my own room, there is only one room. It has two beds, is that alright?"

"Yes, that's perfect."

"I'll work on dinner, you kids go and get washed up in the hot springs bath in the back. There are towels back there as well." The woman then pointed in the direction of the bath, causing Arcadia to begin to walk towards it.

"We appreciate this. Thank you." With that, the group opened the door to the bath to see it as one large open area.

"Arcadia, are you sure about this?" Hendrickson was still on edge, but the girl just smiled at him.

"She seems like a nice woman. There's nothing to worry about. Let's just take a much-needed bath and go from there. Alright?"

"I agree with Arc. She seems nice." Griamore's words sealed Hendrickson's own feelings. He couldn't deny it if the scared little boy had a good feeling about the woman.

"Now, you take Griamore and go to that side. I'll stay on this side. And no peaking, both of you!" Arcadia then grabbed two towels and handed them to the boys, before shooing them away. She then made her way away from them. Once she was a little ways away from them, she got undressed and then climbed into the hot springs.

The girl was instantly relaxed. The water at the edges was about knee high but as she got further into the springs, she realized that the water could come up above her head. She had to swim a little bit to return back to where the edge was. Once there, she leaned against the edge to just relax. She was fully submerged in the water, other than her head. However, her relaxation was ruined when she realized she could hear Hendrickson and Griamore now.

"Arc? Are you there?" It was the little boy's voice sounding sad.

"Yes, I'm here Griamore. What is it?" The girl sat up and hid behind a particularly large rock. She looked over it and could see Griamore and Hendrickson approaching her. Hendrickson was holding the boy and he was in the water to about chest deep.

"I got scared without you. We couldn't hear you or anything."

"I see. Well, I'm right here, don't worry and just wash up, alright?" The little boy just nodded his head and allowed Hendrickson to finally begin washing him up. Meanwhile, the girl began to wash herself up.

They were quiet for a little bit as everyone got washed up. After the cleaning was over, Griamore began to play in the water. He realized he could swim so he was let down, but Hendrickson remained close to him, just in case.

"Hey Arc, come here!"

"Why?" Arcadia hesitantly looked over the rock she was behind again to look at the little boy. As soon as she looked over, she was splashed. Gigging could then be heard immediately after. The girl wiped the water off of her and glared at the little boy. "You little... Fine. You want a water fight, you'll get a water fight." Arcadia covered her breasts and came around the rock. She was in the water up to just above where her stomach is. She instantly splashed the little boy with her free hand, causing him to swim behind Hendrickson. The adult wasn't facing Arcadia, he was facing with his back on her.

"Hendy! Save me!" The little boy cried out as he motioned to be picked up. Hendrickson picked the child up and then turned to face the girl.

"Don't act like a chil-" He was cut off by Arcadia splashing him.

"Oh hush." To Arcadia's actions and words, Griamore giggled some more. He then began to kick his legs, causing water to splash all around and even onto the girl. She just ended up splashing back, as she laughed as well. Only Hendrickson was not amused by the situation. He just stood there with his eyes closed as everything splashed around him. However, it soon all went calm again.

"Are you two done?" Hendrickson questioned simply as he opened his eyes back up. Instantly, his words died away. His eyes landed on the beautiful sight of Arcadia. She was tinted red due to her laughter and had a huge smile on her face. She was truly beautiful at that moment. However, just as he thought that about her, she thought that about him. His hair was down due to the water and now he was flushed red with embarrassment due to him looking at her. The two eyes met, and instantly both were even redder than before.

"Is something on your mind?" Arcadia asked hesitantly to the white-haired man. Her words were quiet, but loud enough in the silence to be heard. She couldn't help but look away from Hendrickson. He was too captivating to her at that moment. With his muscles dripping due to the water and just how he looked in general, it was too much for the girl. However, it was the same for Hendrickson. Quickly, he handed Griamore over to Arcadia and then fled away.

"I am finished, come out when you two are ready." With those words, Hendrickson disappeared behind a rock with a towel and got out, before disappearing overall.

"What just happened?" Griamore questioned as he looked up at the girl who was now holding him. She just shrugged her shoulders and then splashed him. Causing the splashing to resume, along with the giggling.

While those two were having fun, Hendrickson was conflicted. He wasn't sure what he was feeling at that moment, but he knew he didn't want Arcadia or Griamore to notice. The man was confused. He'd never felt something like this before. He also had never seen a naked woman before, so he was feeling a lot of things that he didn't usually feel. However, before anything got out of hand, he pushed those thoughts to the side. The last thing he thought of before getting dried off, was that he wished Dreyfus were there so he could get help to figure out what he was feeling.

It took the other two another few minutes before they were done and met up with the now dressed Hendrickson. The girl was covered in a towel while Griamore walked next to her in a towel of his own.

"Okay, both of you go somewhere else so I can get dried off. Okay?" Arcadia spoke to the two boys. They agreed and left the room, to go and get Griamore dried off and give the girl some privacy. That took only a few minutes before Arcadia met up with them again.

"Do you think the old woman is done making food?" Griamore questioned as he looked up at the adults.

"I'm not sure, let's go find her." Arcadia held Griamore's hand as they walked through the halls to look for the woman. Soon, they found her. She was in the kitchen and the food was ready.

"Ah, I was just about to come and get you three. I already have eaten, so you three can eat in peace." With that, the woman left the room.

"Thank you!" Arcadia called after her as she sat down. She sat with Griamore next to her on one side and Hendrickson on the other. They all sat on the same side of the table. They all enjoyed their meal and ate quickly. It was the best meal they'd had in a little while. After they were done with eating, the old woman showed back up.

"I will guide you to your room."

"Thank you, ma'am," Hendrickson stated as he followed the woman. They were led to a partially large room with two decent sized beds in it.

"Sleep well." With that, the old woman disappeared into her own room.

"Let's get you to bed, alright Griamore?" The little boy nodded his head and chose one of the beds. He already knew that Arcadia and Hendrickson were going to sleep together. As soon as Griamore laid down, he was out. He was apparently very tired. "I'm glad we came across this inn."

"I am as well," Hendrickson responded simply. He set his sword next to the bed and then climbed into the bed. Arcadia followed suit and instantly snuggled up to the man.

"Goodnight, Hendy." Arcadia smiled up at Hendrickson as he blushed. He was still not used to her calling him that.

"Goodnight, Arcadia." With that, the two adults fell asleep as well. They had peaceful sleep and no dreams that night. When they woke up the next morning, Griamore was in between them yet again.

"Good morning!" Griamore called out to the two adults as soon as they opened their eyes.

"Good morning, Griamore," Arcadia muttered as she sat up. Hendrickson just nodded his head and sat up as well.

"I'm hungry."

"I bet you are. I'm sure we can find something to eat." Arcadia was about to get out of bed when there was a knock at the door.

"Morning, children! I have breakfast ready!" It was the old woman.

"We'll be out in a minute!" Arcadia called back as she was now fully out of the bed. She gathered her cloak and her sword before opening the door. Griamore followed her as Hendrickson got out of bed and grabbed his sword. The three of them made their way to the eat-in kitchen and then sat down. The old woman sat on one side while the three others sat on the other side.

"I hope you all slept well."

"We did, thank you."

"Now, now little girl, you don't have to thank me for everything." The old woman smiled at Arcadia before motioning to the food. "Now, eat up!" The three sat down and began to eat the meal in front of them.

"This is good!" Griamore spoke as he ate. The old woman just smiled in return.

"We truly appreciate this. We probably would have just hung out in the forest if we hadn't come across you." Arcadia spoke up next as she ate her food.

"Yes, how much do we owe you for all of this?" Hendrickson finally asked before he started to eat. The old woman just shook her head.

"Seeing such cute youngsters is enough for me. I've been alone here for a very long time and having company, even for just one night is enough payment for me."

"But..." Hendrickson was cut off by the old woman shaking her head.

"It is me who truly appreciates you all. So please, no money. I have no use for it anyway."

"If you insist..." Arcadia was a little hesitant, but she agreed with the woman anyway.

"Now, eat up. I know you three will have one hell of a journey getting out of here. Oh! Before I forget, here's a map to get out of the forest." The old woman then handed them a piece of paper. Hendrickson looked at it first and realized that they were in the dead center of the huge forest. Arcadia just sighed to herself.

"Well, I guess we will have one hell of a journey..." Arcadia muttered and then returned to eating her food.

Soon, the four of them were done eating. The three friends decided to help the old woman clean up before they headed out. With another thank you from Arcadia, and a hug from Griamore, the old woman waved then goodbye.

It took a few hours, but eventually, the group made it out of the forest. There was a close by village that they then sensed demons from. So, they instantly headed there. However, the people there were not as thankful as most others after they took care of the demon problem the village had.

"Isn't that Hendrickson? I thought he was killed by the Seven Deadly Sins?" One man spoke as a crowd began to gather around the little group.

"It is him! How dare he think of entering our village after all he put this country through?!" Another man shouted angrily.

"I know Hendy has done horrible things, but he was being controlled! He is a good man and just saved you all from demons!" Arcadia yelled back at the group.

"Arcadia, it's alright. Let's just leave." Hendrickson pulled the girl closer to him as people began to throw rocks at them.

"We have a child with us! What is your problem!? If you hit him, I'll-"

"Threatening them won't help. Let's just go." Hendrickson was now protectively holding Griamore as rocks nearly hit the three of them.

"Everyone stop! These kind people just saved us and risked their lives to do so!" One man stepped out of the group and stood protectively in front of Hendrickson and Arcadia. "I will give you three shelter for the night, but tomorrow, you must leave and never return. That will be our thanks for saving us."

"Thank you, sir," Hendrickson responded to the man. Seemingly accepting that, the villagers stopped throwing rocks and allowed the kind man to guide the little group to his inn.

That night, Hendrickson, Griamore, and Arcadia were fed and given a room to stay in. The three of them had to sleep together in one bed, but they were okay with it. The next morning, they were abruptly awoken by people yelling rude words and throwing rocks at their window. That was their cue to leave the village, much to Arcadia's dismay. She wanted to give them a piece of her mind, but Hendrickson refused to let her.

They'd gotten a decent ways away from the village when they decided to set up camp for the night. Hendrickson got the fire going as Griamore and Arcadia gathered some food to eat. They didn't get any meat, but they got some probably-not-poisonous berries to munch on.

"Hendy, I'm sorry that there are still people out there that dislike you. If you would have let me, I would have shut them up for good!" Arcadia spoke to the man as they sat around the campfire and ate their little snack.

"It's truly alright, Arcadia. I... I don't mind it." Hendrickson was clearly lying, but Arcadia decided to not call him out on it. He obviously wasn't wanting to speak about it any further. So instead, she looked over at him and smiled.

"Hey Hendy, can you teach me how to heal now?"

"Right now?"

"We have nothing better to do, so why not?" Hendrickson thought about it for a moment then nodded his head. They weren't tired quite yet, so a short lesson was a seemingly good idea. So, Hendrickson brought out his sword and pulled up his sleeve on one of his arms. Then, he created a small cut on his arm. It wasn't deep enough to gush blood or anything, but it was enough for someone to try to heal.

"Now, concentrate on healing the wound." Hendrickson's instructions were seemingly enough for the girl, so she just nodded her head and held her hands over the wound. She then thought about wanting to heal him for a moment, while nothing happened. She pouted slightly when she realized it didn't work. "Try again. Keep trying until you get it. I believe in you."

"Yeah, Arc! I believe in you as well!" Griamore stated from his place near the fire. The girl nodded her head and tried again. Hands hovering over the little wound, thinking about healing it, but still, nothing happened.

"I can't seem to get this." Arcadia was full on pouting now causing Hendrickson to smile slightly at her.

"Think about saving my life then."

"The wound isn't life-threatening though."

"But what if it was. Just imagine that I'm bleeding out and only you can save me."

"Alright..." The girl wasn't too sure about it, but she gave it a try anyway. She again hovered her hands over the wound and then thought about healing a deadly wound. She imagined what could happen if Hendrickson was truly bleeding out and her powers flared at that. She was finally able to heal the wound.

"Good job, Arc!" Griamore called out happily to the girl after Hendrickson's wound cleared up. There weren't even any marks left behind that showed there ever was a cut there in the first place.

"Yes, good job, Arcadia." Hendrickson smiled at the girl, causing her to blush and shyly smile back.

"I think healing a simple wound is all I can currently do, but it's something for now," Arcadia responded as she looked away from the man in front of her. She then proceeded to yawn. "However, I think that took everything out of me to actually heal you."

"Then, let's get to bed. I feel a bit tired now as well. What about you, Griamore?"

"I could sleep." The little boy then made his way to his bedding that lay on the ground. He curled up in it and instantly fell asleep. It seemed like he was more tired than he showed.

"I guess we should get to sleep then too, right?" Arcadia questioned the man sitting in front of her. Hendrickson just nodded his head and moved to where their bedding was laying. Arcadia followed him instantly and laid down next to him after he laid down.

"Goodnight, Arcadia," Hendrickson muttered to the girl who was now curling up against him.

"Goodnight, Hendy." He could practically hear her smile as she spoke his abbreviated name. He only slightly blushed at the name. He was growing used to hearing it come from her lips.

The next morning, as usual, the two adults woke up with Griamore in the middle of them. That was just a normal start to their day. So they continued on like normal as well. They ate breakfast, got ready for the day and then headed out to start hunting down demons. They would continue this for the following days until they needed to head back to Liones, all the while Hendrickson and Arcadia grew closer together.


	19. Broken

Chapter 19 - Broken

"H...How?! I thought attack magic wasn't supposed to work on Zeldris?!" Mael yelled out in shock as he held less of his brother now.

"Did you forget? I was the one that lent you that power, The Demon King, in the first place!" The Demon King yelled out to his injured son.

"Uncle Zeldris!" Arcadia cried out but remained rooted next to Hendrickson. She knew she needed to be there just in case. She couldn't let him die for Zeldris's sake.

"Bastard!" Ban yelled out as he kicked the Demon King in the face hard. "You... Absolute scumbag bastard! That's your son... Your own flesh and blood, isn't it?!" Ban was repeatedly punching and hitting the Demon King as he yelled at him. "Just what the hell are you trying to pull?!"

"I am the Demon King!" He bellowed as he punched Ban back finally. "I have no need for weaklings in my bloodline!"

"So what?!" Ban responded as he attacked back. He just kept attacking the demon over and over again, until the Demon King was sent flying backward. As the Demon King stood up, he was covered in black and yelled out loudly. He then began to fly in the air, bouncing around randomly. "...What is it this time?!"

"That's the Demon King's death throes," Merlin answered as she was finally conscious and back up on her feet with the help of Escanor.

"You... You all..."

"He's planning on dragging the captain down along with him. We need to drive him out of his body now!"

"Hey, were you able to meet Meliodas?! Was he doing okay?!" Hawk questioned the young goddess.

"...Why didn't you come with us, Hawk?" Elizabeth returned with a question of her own.

"...W...Well... B-Because..." However, he was cut off by the Demon King flying at them as he continued to scream out.

"For now, we've got to stop him from zipping around!" Ban yelled out as he made his move to head after the demon. Ban was able to get in front of him and try to stop the demon from moving any further. "You seriously don't know when to give up, do you?!" However, his attempts shot the Demon King upwards. Elizabeth, Merlin, and King all began to use a combined attack on the demon as he was above them. That caused the demon to scream out even louder now.

"Hang in there, captain!" Diane yelled out as she then got ready to use an attack of her own. The Demon King came back down almost hitting Ban in the process. Now, however, he was laughing like a psychopath.

"My final ultimate technique..." The Demon King muttered out as he laughed. However, Hawk came crashing down on his head and shoulders.  
"Master!" Ban yelled out, horrified by what the pig was doing. Diane chose this moment to use her attack and send the Demon King upward on a huge mountain of earth. Ban then quickly made his way up the mountain and prepared to attack the Demon King once more. "I'm comin' for you, Cap'n... It's time to get your ass back here!" Ban sun out as he delivered the finishing blow. He punched down on the Demon King's abdomen, causing the mountain to shatter around them and split down the middle. Everyone looked on as the dust began to clear.

"Did...it work?" One of them questioned as everything finally became clear.

"Yes... Welcome back!" Elizabeth called out as she wiped a tear from her eye. There laying on pieces of lifted earth, was the real Meliodas.

"Geez... My body is beat to hell..." Meliodas spoke with a smile on his face.

"...To hell and back, that is." Ban sun in response with a matching smile on his own face. It seemed like everything was over, just like that. However, Arcadia and Hendrickson's attentions were turned to the disappearing Ludociel.

"It's... so quiet," Ludociel muttered to his brother. "Would you tell me... what's happening? I can no longer see anything."

"It's over, brother," Mael responded as he held his fading older brother. "The Demon King had been wiped out. The threat has been eliminated. And it's all thanks to their efforts... The Seven Deadly Sins. They have managed to do what none other was even capable of..."

"Hmph... How naive. Just because the Demon King was vanquished, doesn't mean that the Holy War is over." Ludociel muttered out bitterly. However, he then spoke more. "Even so, brother... This is still the first, small step. The first step that the Goddess and Demon clans who once hated one another are taking together."

"Lord Ludociel!" Hendrickson spoke with a pained smile on his face.

"Precisely. I never thought I'd hear words like that came from you." Elizabeth spoke up next, bringing everyone's attention to her. She'd walked over silently without anyone noticing.

"Please, forget it. I was merely sick of his meaningless Holy War."

"...I won't forget. I won't forget how you all risked your lives to protect us. Thank you, Ludociel. And you... Mael."

"Hmph..." That was all the now smiling Ludociel had to say before disappearing completely.

"Brother..." Mael muttered as he watched his brother depart. Hendrickson and Arcadia just looked up as well and watched their friend leave.

"He'll be at peace now. We all will be, hopefully." Arcadia muttered as she looked over at Hendrickson. She sadly smiled at her lover and leaned against him as if she could no longer stand by herself. He wrapped an arm around her in return to not only pull her close but to keep her standing upright as well.

Then their attention was turned back to the Seven Deadly Sins. Specifically, Escanor who began to whistle and smile widely.

"But still, I can't believe it! You actually defeated the Demon King! Not to mention the fact that both the captain and Ban managed to make it back!" Escanor yelled out happily. However, no one else seemed to share his enthusiasm. "What's the matter, everyone? You're all looking so gloomy..."

"Of course, we're happy that the captain and Ban came back... But the biggest problem of all still hasn't been solved." King responded simply as he looked over at his friend.

"Ahh..."

"Exactly. There's only one day left until Elizabeth's curse manifests. And now we've lost any means of breaking it." Merlin stated as she looked down at the ground. "The captain tried to collect and absorb all the commandments in order to break it... but in the end... The Demon King had to be destroyed."

"Which means Elizabeth is going to die..." Diane muttered as she began to cry despite her lover patting her on the head softly and comfortingly.

"Diane. That's already settled and done with. What I wanted most was for Meliodas to return back to his normal self!" Elizabeth was now at Meliodas with her hands affectionately in his hair. "If Meliodas did become the Demon King, then we would have never been able to see each other again. Whereas even if I die, I'll be reincarnated time and time again."

"I suppose that is what you wanted to begin with, sis-sis. But are you really going to be okay with this?" Merlin questioned simply as she turned to her friend.

"...Sorry to butt in, right in the middle of your serious conversation, but... There's a way to break the curse." Meliodas chose to chime in at that moment, causing the rest of the sins and Elizabeth to be shocked. "Actually, a funny thing happened while I was escaping from Purgatory. I just coincidentally managed to acquire that power."

"Y'know, you really should learn to read the atmosphere a bit. Making a joke like that might wind up getting you killed." Gowther mumbled to the captain.

"Haha, but I'm not joking."

"I agree with Gowther. There's no way you just happened to conveniently get a hold of that power... Unless you really did..." Ban stated next as he looked down at his friend.

"Now then, shall we get to it?"

"Meliodas...?" Elizabeth hesitantly asked as she looked over at her shorter lover.

"Okay, everyone apart from Elizabeth and myself, please clear away."

"Wh...What are you about to do?" The giant questioned as she and everyone else backed away.

"Merlin, would you do the honors?" Meliodas snapped at the woman with a smile on his face.

"...Sure." Merlin then used her powers causing a black haze to form around the goddess and demon.

"What is this, Merlin?!" King questioned after his lover pointed out the obvious black haze.

"This is the form of their curse, made visible... Eternal life and perpetual rebirth."

"So this... Is the curse that we've been afflicted with?" Elizabeth asked, however, was ignored by her lover suddenly changing his appearance.

"...You're not going anywhere." Meliodas stated, startling the other sins.

"C...Captain?" Escanor questioned out in shock.

"F...Father?" Arcadia hesitantly asked as she saw the form the man changed into. It was a similar look to how the Demon King had looked.

"Elizabeth... I'm for the 3,000 years I made you wait... But now, at last, I can fulfill my promise with you!"

"Hey... Meliodas?" Elizabeth suddenly and hesitantly questioned causing the demon to turn to look at her.

"Hmm?"

"Even after you fulfill your promise to me... Will you still... Go on loving me forever?" The girl was now crying as she looked at Meliodas.

"...Of course, I will, Elizabeth! Forever and ever, until you get sick of me first!" Meliodas then gathered power and sent it up flying at the two visible curses. With that, the curses were broken with a blast of sparkles.

"Wow... it's so pretty..." One of the sins muttered as another one spoke up as well. "I can't believe it... that curse of Gods was so easily broken..." Meliodas then turned back into his usual self, before receiving a hug from Elizabeth.

"And now, our long journey is also, at last, finished," Meliodas spoke up with a smile.

"No... It's only just begun." Elizabeth responded as she cried some more. "Let's all head back to Liones. Everyone is waiting for us!"

With some tears of her own, Arcadia looked at the happy scene in front of her.

"Can it really be over?" The girl questioned as she looked up to her lover. Hendrickson just softly smiled down at her. He didn't have any answers for her. All he could do was tighten his grip on her and remain there with the girl for now, and forever.


	20. Together

Chapter 20 - Together

After getting back to Liones things returned to normal. Well as normal as they could now that the war was over.

For only a few moments, Dreyfus and Hendrickson were able to make up and get back to how they once were. Then, they had to split up again due to their own duties. Dreyfus had to tend to his son, while Hendrickson had to tend to his lover.

"You know, I'm angry with you for trying to sacrifice yourself. I can't believe you'd leave me like that." Arcadia spoke to the druid as they got ready for bed in their temporary home. Hendrickson's house had been destroyed, meaning they were now staying in a room in the castle. No one tried to offer them separate rooms, by now, everyone understood that they were sleeping together, in a pure type of way.

"I understand, and I'm-" Hendrickson was cut off by Arcadia raising her hand.

"No, don't say sorry, because you aren't. I completely understand why you were willing to do what you were going to do. I'm proud that you would give yourself for the sake of Gilthunder and Lady Margaret. Even so, I'm still angry... along with being angry for you abandoning me that night for Ludociel."

"Yes, well, I do apologize about that. I never meant to hurt you. It was all part of my plan... However, did you truly sleep with Dreyfus that night?"

"Of course I did. You know I can't sleep alone. I was also being spiteful towards you, but it was completely innocent. Dreyfus was a gentleman. He didn't touch me inappropriately."

"I see..." Hendrickson was a little upset that he forced her to sleep with his closest friend, but he knew it was his own fault for leaving the girl alone that night. "Arcadia...?"

"Yes, Hendy?" She turned to look over at him. He was staring at her with a soft smile on his face.

"I swear, you will never sleep alone, or with anyone else, again."

"I'm glad to hear that, but I already planned on sharing your bed until the day we die. You don't have a choice in the matter any longer." She said that with a teasing smile on her face, causing Hendrickson's own smile to widen. He then reached out his arms to her, beckoning her into them.

"Come here, Arcadia." He was sitting on the bed now, while Arcadia was in the process of putting a pair of shorts on. They'd changed together with their backs to one another, but Hendrickson had caught the tail end of her putting her bottoms on.

"Why?" She asked that, but still followed his orders and walked into his arms. She was still standing though.

"I spoke with Dreyfus. About us."

"Oh? What did he say?"

"He said that the next logical step will be to get married. How do you feel about that?"

"I feel like we've been married for a while now, so we might as well make it official. I don't plan on ever leaving your side again." Arcadia then wrapped her arms around Hendrickson's neck and smiled down at him. "However, how about we make it official tonight."

"How will we do that? We can't get married so late now." Hendrickson was a little clueless to what the girl was referring to, but she just smiled even more at him.

"I'll show you. I'll show that you are the only man, human or otherwise, for me. I'll show you another way to show our love for one another, if you're up for it, old man." Arcadia was smiling a teasing smile once again, causing Hendrickson to frown.

"Now, now, Howzer calls me that, don't you start too." Hendrickson then thought it over what the girl said, and turned an adorable shade of pink when he realized finally what the girl was saying to him. "I'm up for it, Arcadia. Let's show the depth of our love the way only two people in love can."

"Hendy, that sounded romantic, what has gotten into you?" Hendrickson just smiled up at her, before tugging her down to his level to press his lips against hers.

"I love you, Arcadia." Not only did he say that with words, but in the kiss, she could feel it, and in his eyes, she could see it. This was uncharted territory for the man, but he'd do his best for the sake of the one he loved.

"I love you too, Hendrickson." With that, the two dived head first into their love. Let's just say, neither got much sleep in that bed.

The two love birds ended up sleeping away the rest of the day, which led them to where they were now. Half awake due to hearing a knock at their door right after dusk.

"Hendy, there's someone at our door," Arcadia muttered as she shook the man in front of her in bed. He grumbled a bit, then began to get up.

"I'll get it."

"Put some pants on first, you're naked." Arcadia watched as Hendrickson confusedly looked down at himself, before turning a shade of pink as he searched for his pants that had gotten thrown away at some point during the night. Once they were located and on his body, he answered the door.

"Hendy, where have you been, no one has seen you... Wait, why are you half naked? Why is Arcadia hiding in bed? What..." Dreyfus trailed off not wanting to ask anything more as he was putting the pieces together. "Oh, I'm interrupting."

"We were just sleeping, if you'd knocked a few hours ago, you would have been interrupting," Arcadia called from her place hidden under the covers. She had a smile on her face that was clearly meant to tease the older man.

"Give us a minute, Dreyfus," Hendrickson spoke as he slowly closed the door.

"Of course." Dreyfus couldn't help but smile at the two. He was proud of his best friend. He thought the man would stay a virgin for the rest of his life.

It only took a few minutes for the two to get their clothing back on and prepare for going out. Once they were done, they left the room to see Dreyfus looking out of a window.

"We're ready now. What was it you wanted?" Arcadia questioned simply as she walked over to the man. He turned to look at her and smiled down at her. He then patted her on the back and turned to whack Hendrickson on the back.

"Good job you two. I'm glad you two have each other." There was a hint of sadness in his voice, but before either Arcadia or Hendrickson could comment on it, Dreyfus was speaking again. "I was wanting to take a walk with the two of you before getting a celebratory drink tonight at the Boar Hat."

"That sounds good!" Arcadia smiled brightly up at the man. She enjoyed spending time with Dreyfus.

"Then, let's go." Hendrickson simply spoke as he too smiled at his friend.

As they walked, Dreyfus could remain silent no longer.

"I'm just astounded at you," Dreyfus spoke to Hendrickson as he walked down the path. "I can't believe you managed to pull a fast one on the head of the Four Archangels."

"Well... It's not like I was planning to deceive him." Hendrickson began as he ran his hand through his hair. "I mean, I was being sincere..."

"You idiot savant." Arcadia couldn't help but chuckle at Dreyfus's words.

"I'm sorry, Dreyfus. I should have at least told you, but..." Hendrickson looked over to the older man. "Honestly, if I had, you would have stopped me, right?"

"Of course, I would have!" Dreyfus yelled as he punched Hendrickson's head, knocking the man forward.

"Hendy!" Arcadia was instantly tending to the man.

"Hendrickson..."

"What?" The druid responded as he looked to the man who'd hit him. His pain was written all over his face.

"As your friend, I understand your feelings more than anyone else, maybe even more than Arcadia, but don't overdo it and go rushing to an early grave."

"Dreyfus..."

"Both Anna and Zaratras are already gone... and Griamore's already become capable and self-sufficient, as well. He may have his own family to provide for before long. Not to mention now, Fraudrin is no longer apart of me."

"Dreyfus, Fraudrin was-" Hendrickson's shocked outburst was cut off by Dreyfus smiling.

"I know... But I just can't seem to bring myself to hate him completely." The man then turned to look at Hendrickson once again. "Anyways, you're the only person I've got left that I can really vent to. Of course, now there's Arcadia as well."

"Not sure I like that job," Hendrickson commented, only to he patted roughly on the back. Arcadia could only smile at the two men as she watched them walk together.

"C'mon! I'll be treating you to a full course of venting and ranting over drinks at the bar tonight, little Hendy!" Dreyfus then turned to Arcadia, who was walking behind the two men now. "You too, Arc. Let's go!"

"Right!" Arcadia then fast walked to catch up with the two men. She walked in between them to take Hendrickson's left hand and Dreyfus's right hand. "Let's go, boys."

"I'm middle-aged, y'know..." Hendrickson muttered while Dreyfus just laughed.

"I'm still a couple thousand years older than both of you, so to me, you'll always just be a boy."

"Well, technically, I think earlier today, he became a man." Dreyfus pointed out, causing both Arcadia and Hendrickson to turn a full shade of red.

"Yo-You're not wrong there." Arcadia stuttered out, clearly embarrassed. That was the end of their conversations. The rest of the walk, hand-in-hand, was silent. Eventually, though, they reached the Boar Hat where many other people had gathered. Thankfully, there was a table still available and the group headed over to it. There, they began to drink and laugh with each other as Dreyfus ranted on drunkenly.

"Two meat-ish pies-" Elizabeth spoke to the two men, before tripping and throwing the pies all over them. Arcadia just laughed at the two men but had a sense of unease come over her. She looked over to Ban and Meliodas who were now leaving the main part and going out onto a balcony.

"I'll be right back." Arcadia quickly hurried over to them, only to catch the tail end of their conversation.

"...So, you realized, did you?" It was Meliodas speaking. So Arcadia opened the door to see what was going on.

"You can't stay here much longer, can you? So... When it is?" Ban spoke before clarifying his question. "When is the day that you'll be gone?"

"Fa...Father?" Arcadia hesitantly asked as she stepped out onto the balcony. Both men turned to see her. Meliodas had a smile on his face, but it faltered when he saw her.

"Arcadia?" Meliodas muttered as he looked at his daughter.

"What does he mean by that? Are you leaving?"

"You might as well tell her, she deserves to know," Ban spoke before leaving the balcony to head back to his lover.

"I am the Demon King now, for the sake of balance in this world, I can't remain here." It was a shock to the girl, but after a moment of thinking, she nodded her head.

"I understand... I'm not happy about it, but I understand." Arcadia was about to turn away when Meliodas grabbed her arm.

"Wait, Arcadia, I can break your curse now. Do you want me to?" Meliodas's words caused Arcadia's eyes to widen.

"What made you wait so long to ask me that?"

"I didn't think you would want me to ask you about it in front of other people."

"Well... give me some time to think about it, alright?"

"Okay." Meliodas smiled at his daughter and released her arm. With that, Arcadia bid farewell to her father and returned to her lover's side.

"What was that about?" Dreyfus questioned as the girl sat back down. She just shook her head and smiled at the two men who were staring at her. They could clearly see something was off with her.

"I'll tell you two later, alright? Let's just enjoy the night." With that, the two men and the girl went back to doing just as she said, enjoying their night together.

Dreyfus ended up getting way too drunk and ended up passing out on the table, while Hendrickson drank slowly and didn't get as drunk as fast. Arcadia was happy to finally be able to drink especially with the two closest people in her life. All the while, in the back of her mind, she knew that one day, she would never see her father again.

Eventually, Arcadia and Hendrickson passed out with Dreyfus and many other people. The couple remained together, holding each other on the floor under their table peacefully. Dreyfus eventually woke up and decided to join them on the floor, and that resulted in him wrapping his arms around both Hendrickson and Arcadia. The three of them peacefully slept there together until morning.

"Hey, you three, it's time to wake up." It was Meliodas's voice that eventually brought the three out of their deep slumber.

"Is the world ending?" Arcadia questioned instantly as she looked over at Meliodas who was leaning down to look under the table.

"No?"

"Then go away." With those words, the girl snuggled back into the embrace of the two men. She was in the middle of them happily.

"No, no. Elizabeth and I need to clean up, so you three need to go. It's morning."

"...Fine..." With that, Arcadia sat up to the best of her ability and shook awake the two men next to her. "Wake up guys, we gotta go."

"Why?"

"We're on the floor! Let's go, both of you!" Arcadia crawled out from under the table to see many other people being awoken as well. Now that she was awake and out from under the table, she grabbed Dreyfus's legs and dragged him out, startling him. Then, she did the same with her lover, also startling him. "Come on guys, if I have to wake up, then you do too."

"We're up now..." Dreyfus muttered as he put a hand to his head.

"You okay? I'll go get some water for you. Do you need some too, Hendrickson?"

"Yes, please." Hendrickson looked up at the girl with a grimace on his face. Both men clearly had hangovers. So the girl scurried off to gather water for them. She returned moments later to find them sitting in their seats once more.

"So what got you down last night? Why were you upset?" Hendrickson finally spoke after drinking a bit of water. The girl gasped a little, in shock that he remembered that she wasn't as happy as she was in the beginning.

"Well, I suppose I should tell you, but you two can't tell anyone, alright?" Both men nodded their heads and then grimaced at the moving of their heads causing sharp pain. Arcadia dropped her voice and whispered to the men. "Well, Meliodas has to leave this world."

"WHAT?!" Both men yelled out instantly before groaning in pain.

"Shut up you two!" Arcadia hissed instantly, swatting them both. A few others in the tavern looked over at the group, well more liked glared over at them.

"Sorry, what do you mean by he has to leave this world?" Hendrickson spoke in a more hushed tone. Arcadia then explained it to the two of them and they both frowned.

"I wish there was something we could to do help Sir Meliodas." Dreyfus finally spoke up after he processed what the girl had said.

"Well, there isn't anything we can do..." Arcadia trailed off as she looked down at the ground. "There's also something else I need to talk to you two about."

"What is it?" Hendrickson questioned with concern in his voice. The girl hadn't looked up at them again.

"Well, for hundreds of years, I have lived and died and then lived again... But now, Meliodas can break my curse as well."

"What curse?" Dreyfus questioned as Hendrickson looked shocked.

"I am cursed like my father was. With eternal life, along with always watching the people, I get close to die." Arcadia had spoken while she looked back up to Dreyfus. She then turned to look at Hendrickson. "However, I think that I want you to be the last one. The last one I love until I die." That threw Hendrickson off a little bit.

"But, you..." The white-haired man trailed off, not fully knowing what to say to the girl.

"I love you more than my own life, Hendy. I want to actually grow old with you. I want us to be together until we die, and then have our spirits be together even then. However, if I have this curse, I can't do that and honestly, I don't think I could live in a world without you now."

"Arcadia..." Hendrickson couldn't help but tear up a little as he smiled at his lover.

"I'll have Meliodas break my curse if that's what you want as well. I enjoyed being practically immortal, but I would enjoy spending my last days with you even more."

"I would love to spend our last days together, Arcadia. If that is what you truly want." Arcadia just nodded her head as she wiped away tears that had began to fill her eyes.

"Good for you, Hendy!" Dreyfus patted his back painfully, effectively ruining the touching moment the two had. As both Arcadia and Hendrickson turn to look at the brown-haired man, they saw he had some stray tears as well. He'd been moved by their conversation.

"Dreyfus..." Hendrickson just smiled at his friend. Arcadia couldn't help but chuckle at the situation as she looked at the two men.

"After your curse is broken, you two should get married and have a couple of kids, don't you think?" With Dreyfus's words, Arcadia and Hendrickson's faces turned red.

"...Well, he isn't wrong though. We can do that once my curse is broken." Arcadia admitted after a moment of thought. "I should go and find Meliodas. I want my curse gone as soon as possible."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Hendrickson questioned as his face turned back to his normal color.

"Hmm. I don't think so. I think I'll need a little time alone with my father. It'll be a goodbye talk as well." With that, Arcadia stood up, kissed Hendrickson's cheek and then scurried off to find Meliodas.

She knew where he was anyway. He was in one of the bedrooms with Elizabeth. Both of them were just waking up when she quietly entered their room with a hand over her eyes.

"Can I look? Are you two decent?" The girl questioned, causing both of them to laugh.

"We're decent, Arcadia," Elizabeth responded simply with a chuckle. The girl uncovered her eyes to see her parents just sitting up in bed together.

"Have you made your decision? Do you want me to break your curse?" Meliodas questioned as he smiled at his daughter.

"Yes. I want to grow old with Hendrickson, and die with him."

"So dramatic, you could have just said yes." Meliodas teased as he climbed out of bed. He then patted his daughter on the head and smiled at her. "I knew you were going to say that. Let's go find Merlin, and then go outside where we can break this thing."

"Alright." The two, followed by Elizabeth walked down into Merlin's area. She was already waiting outside of her door with a smile on her face.

"I believe you three were looking for me?" Merlin asked even though she already knew the answer. Merlin then patted Arcadia on the head. "Let's go break your curse." With that, the four of them went outside. It didn't take too long, all Merlin had to do was use her magic to show Arcadia's curse, then Meliodas used his magic power to break the curse. It was over quite quickly.

"How do you feel? Any different?" Elizabeth questioned after the curse was finally gone.

"I feel a little scared now," Arcadia admitted simply. "I only have a few hearts left and who knows what else will happen in this world."

"Yes, but now, you can live a normal life with Hendrickson. I want to see your children one day. I'm sure they will be beautiful."

"Thank you... Mother." Arcadia smiled at her mother, but then tears began to fill her eyes. "I feel like this is the last time I'll ever see you both."

"It's alright Arcadia, we'll all be together again one day." Elizabeth had tears of her own filling her eyes. The two girls couldn't help but hug each other. It was their first ever hug and it meant the world to them. When the hug ended, Arcadia turned to her father.

"Father... I..." The girl couldn't get anything out before the tears began to fall.

"I know, Arcadia." Meliodas just smiled at the girl and hugged her. She couldn't help but begin to cry as she realized that this most likely was the last time she would ever see her parents.

"I'll miss you both," Arcadia whispered softly before breaking the hug.

"We'll miss you too." Both of her parents responded as the girl smiled through her tears.

By now, Hendrickson and Dreyfus were out of the tavern and were watching the events. Arcadia had turned to see them and then hurried over to Hendrickson. He opened his arms for her and she instantly went into them, nearly knocking him over. Dreyfus actually had to hold the two up.

"I'm free now, Hendrickson. I can die like a normal person." Arcadia's tears were drying up now, as she looked up at the man she loved dearly. "We can finally live a normal life, right?"

"Of course we can. As normal as our lives could possibly be, right Dreyfus?" Hendrickson looked to his best friend, who just nodded his head.

"Let's go get married, okay, Hendy?" Arcadia couldn't help but laugh at the cute embarrassed look that appeared on his face. However, he just nodded his head and leaned down to kiss Arcadia's lips. Once they broke apart, Arcadia spoke as she looked at both Hendrickson and Dreyfus. "Let's go spend the rest of our lives. All of us, together."


End file.
